


The Pink Warrior

by HeatherYan



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Mulan (1998) Fusion, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Community: kakasaku, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Mulan (1998) References, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:33:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28045494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeatherYan/pseuds/HeatherYan
Summary: A kakasaku story in Mulan universe ✨The Amegakure shinobis had invaded the northern border of Konoha kingdom and threatened the peace. In order to protect the kingdom and its people from invaders, the emperor had declared the war. One man from every family was called to the arms. Sakura, a young maiden and an excellent doctor of the Haruno family joined the military masquerading as a fictitious son of her ailing father to save him from the rigours of war.All the Naruto characters in this fic belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Photos are not mine.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Karin/Uchiha Sasuke, Nara Shikamaru/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 17
Kudos: 49





	1. The Maiden

**Author's Note:**

> This story idea is based on a fiction I found on Ao3 website. I was digging through a bunch of kakasaku stories and found it. I love the idea so much.....but sadly, the author never updated it since 2014 after the first 2 chapters. So it was like 6 years ago and I want to keep reading it very badly. I want more! Therefore I created a new one on my own taking the author's idea. :')  
> As a notice, I don't want to repeat the same old mulan plot. I added many new ideas and will be more complicated in the late chapters. But the core will be a lot like mulan. 🌸  
> I don't have any skill or talent in writing. It's just that I desperately need to get the idea out of my head. So please put up with me when you see something lame or weird. :') I'll try to update as regularly as possible. 💕 
> 
> P.S. The author I mentioned above started the story when Sakura was already in army. But here, I'll start from the beginning of Mulan.
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> \- Whit Swanz -

"500 years ago, the world was severely devastated by the giant monsters called kaijus. Kaijus are very aggressive and destructive godzilla-like creatures with enormous strength. They demolished tons of houses and buildings, killed thousands of lives and destroyed everything they saw. Samurais and brave soldiers fought against them but the numbers were not fair enough to win. Their numbers only seemed to increase more. According to the legend, kaijus lived in a different world which exist beside humans'. There was a gate separating the two worlds. It was made by gods and never opened for once. But now, kaijus were in humans world which meant the gate was unlocked! Some said it was an accident, others said it was because of a witch who detested humans and some said it was Gods' punishment. Nobody knew exactly why the gate was opened.  
The world was like a dreadful hell, screams, cries, weeping, mourning, and blood, scattering everywhere. Unrecognizable half-eaten dead bodies also participated in creating the most heart-wrenching view in history. People started to lose hope and when they thought there was nothing but the unavoidable fate of death ahead of them, a single woman lightened up the flame in their dying candles. Her name was Princess Fuyuko. She was the youngest princess of the royal family. Just as her name means "the child of winter", her hair was as white as snow and she had ocean-like eyes. She slaughtered a lot of kaijus with her sword and the legendary white dragon of grace companied her. She killed which seemed to be the boss of monsters, the biggest and strongest one and finally, closed the gate again with seven seals.  
The world was peaceful again thanks to Princess Fuyuko and people worshipped her like a goddess. Some even said she had super powers and was sent by the gods. Fuyuko was just a normal human girl. But she was indeed chosen and gifted to be a heroine. Even her sword wasn't an ordinary one. It was so special and only the deserved ones could use it. People named it "the sword of flakes"But since after Princess Fuyuko, nobody got the luck to use the sword and it was locked in the castle. Until now, the sword of flakes and the white dragon are still waiting for their next owner."

"Papa...where is the sword and white dragon?" A little girl with pink hair asked her father, her bright green eyes shining with excitement. 

"I don't know. This is just a legend. It didn't happen in real life." The man with the same hair color like the girl answered. 

"But I like this story so much. Will you tell me again?" She pleaded sweetly. Her small pinkish lips curled upwards as she waited for her father's answer. 

"I will tell every night as long as you want." 

The little girl's smile grew wider and she said beaming at him,  
"Princess Fuyuko is so wonderful. I want to be a girl like her." 

"You are a wonderful princess to me, Sakura."  
The muscular pink-haired man leaned in to place a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead.  
"Now sleep. Good night. Have a sweet dream."  
He stood up and left her room, blowing out the candle. The room was instantly filled with darkness but dim light of moon occupied a little place near the window. 

"Good night papa." The girl murmured softly and closed her eyes. Of course, her father's bedtime story never left her mind and it kept buzzing around her head but she couldn't help it. It would be so wonderful to save lives, she mused. She imagined herself as Princess Fuyuko defeating the monsters and standing like a hero, a very cool hero. A chuckle left her mouth and she sighed softly.  
"Mmm...I want to be a hero," she said sleepily, almost like a soundless tone. Shifting in the bed, she made herself comfortable and fell asleep. That night, she dreamed about the Princess and the dragon.  
*  
*  
*  
Today was her fifth birthday. She was playing near the paddy fields as her mother was busy with clearing weeds. A cool breeze touched her cheeks and she lifted her face to find a pink butterfly flying around her. She grinned widely and hands rose to touch it. But the butterfly flew away swiftly making Sakura to follow. She ran after it giggling and smiling, wanting to catch the pretty creature. When her fingers almost touched the butterfly, she heard a growl, more like of a beast. She automatically turned to look the place where the voice came from but trees and bushes were blocking her view. She cautiously walked to that place, there was a slight fear in her chest but curiosity won over. As she got closer, she could even heard its snorting sounds, louder than any other snorting she had ever heard. She held her breath and went nearer, tip toeing to hide behind a tree. There it was, the thing she had never thought exist in real life was laying down on a verdant field, like a breathtaking picture. It had horns like a crown and huge wings, as huge as her house. Its body was covered by scales and there was sky blue mane on its head down to its tail. As this thing turned to her direction, she met its gaze and jolted back. Its eyes were crimson red, very intense and powerful. She froze and couldn't bring her body to move. This thing starring at her was exquisitely beautiful yet at the same time, terrifying. It was the legendary white dragon of grace. 

"Sakura......" A woman's voice appeared breaking the spell that the dragon was casting on Sakura. She immediately looked back and saw her mother coming to her direction.  
"Sakura...What are you doing here? It's time to go back home." 

"Mom...look, ther-  
She froze. Her finger was pointing to a peaceful green field which had completely no sign of a beast lying there. It had gone. She didn't understand, it was only seconds she looked away and she didn't hear any sound either. Wasn't it real? 

"Dear...we need to head back home now. Daddy is waiting for us." Mebuki held her daughter's hand and smiled, "Don't leave somewhere without letting me know again, okay?" 

"Yes, mom." Sakura nodded and they walked away to return home. She couldn't stop thinking about the incident. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if she really saw the white dragon? The legendary white dragon? Then again, she recalled the image of flaming red eyes and goosebumps popped out on her skin.  
It was real...

==========================

**13 years later **  
**Royal capital** 

On gold tiles of floor, a man in armor was walking hurriedly to the emperor's chamber. His face was calm but the charcoal eyes were expressing his mind was fully focused on something. The long spiky silver hair was tied in the back and thin lips were twitching in frustration. He walked into the chamber and bowed the man sitting on the throne, the third emperor of Konoha kingdom, Sarutobi Hiruzen. 

"Your majesty, the rain soldiers had crossed our northern border." 

"Impossible. No one can get through the walls." The man standing close to the emperor whose half face was covered by bandages interrupted abruptly. The emperor raised a hand to him and gestured the silver-haired man to continue. 

"Hanzo is leading them. We got the signal before they killed all the guards at the wall. We'll set up defenses around your palace immediately." 

"No!" The emperor refused, "Send your troops to protect my people, Sakumo." 

"Yes, your highness." 

"Deliver conscription notices throughout all the provinces. Call up reserves and as many new recruits as possible."

"Forgive me your majesty. I believe my troops can stop them," the general protested. 

"I believe in you Sakumo. But I don't take any chances. A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man maybe the difference between victory and defeat." 

The General obeyed and bowed the emperor before he left. 

"Your highness, I think we should move to the safer place." The man with bandages said. 

The emperor reached out the tea cup and took a sip of jasmine-scented tea.  
"No, Danzo. I cannot move away while my people are in danger. This isn't something unexpected. I have many skilled and reliable shinobis. We have to face what's coming to us. It's time." 

===========================

A small village, hidden behind the mountains, came to life as the sun rose inch by inch, giving warmth and light to the earth. Gradually, the environment got noisy with chirping birds and hollering chickens along with the sounds of humans. Most dwellers in the village were farmers who always busied with crops in all seasons of the year. In this time of early mornings, they are up to get ready for work. Women are also up to do their usual things in routine. The village is small and so is the population. There were only nearly 30 households in total, residing in the whole village. It looked obviously poor but on the bright side, it was peaceful. All are peasants who contented their lives and share a simple life together. 

On a street, a girl was running past the people heading to a certain house. Her pastel-colored hair was falling around her waist without any restraints. When the sun showered her with its light, the hair strands got brighter making everyone on the way to turn around and admire her hair color which was the very exquisite shade of pink!  
A grin formed on her lips as her destination became visible. Some books were in her hand which she hugged them tightly against her chest. She ran up to the place with excitement.  
It was a cottage, old but not shabby. Pushing the wooden door, she went inside. 

"Oh...Good morning Sakura chan. You're early today." A woman with short black hair greeted her. She was feeding her pet pig named "ton ton" .

"Good morning Shizune-san. Where's Shishou?" 

"She's in the kitchen, making some soup. But not in the best state of mind. You know...hangover." Shizune chuckled patting her little pig. 

With a huff, Sakura rolled her eyes.  
"Kami, I hope she doesn't drive me go beyond my sanity today." 

"You won't be. I can assure that." She gave her a sweet smile to what Sakura felt like a hint it's gonna be a pain ass day. 

She made her way to the kitchen and found her mentor in quite unpleasant state, groaning and mumbling expletives.  
"Good morning Shishou." Sakura grunted, eyeing carefully at the blonde woman. 

"I'm in no mood to rise and shine with you. Give me a minute before I could stop spinnings in my head." The woman snorted, without opening her eyes. 

"That's why I always told you not to drink a lot." 

The blonde woman opened her honey-colored eyes and glared at the pinkette.  
"Well...thanks for lecturing me. How about I assign you more research work?" 

"Aha haha...I was worried about you Shishou. Don't mind that." Sakura laughed nervously, knowing if she didn't change the subject quickly, her free time would become nonexistent and she'd be pulling her hair out between papers and books.  
"Umm... I came to let you know that I have read and study all the books you gave me last week. You can ask any questions about them," she said confidently, 

"Great then. Today, I will show you new advanced healing techniques for concussion and head injuries." 

"Hai." The pink-haired doctor replied with sparkles in her eyes. 

Tsunade is a very beautiful woman with blonde hair and pig tails. Skin is crystal clear and not a single line of wrinkle was visible despite her age. She has well-toned muscles and curvy body, but most impressive of all, her feminine mounds with full of glory. She always wore a green haori with the word "Gambler" on the back and black pants. She is very crazy about gambling and loves to drink sake at nights.  
As scary as she looks by possessing monstrous strength, Tsunade is an incredibly amazing doctor. She cured many life-threatening diseases, wounds and injuries and most were successful.  
She and Shizune weren't born in the village. They were wanderers before settling in this boonies. It was 5 years ago and they established a small clinic at the edge of the village. Villagers were very pleased with their presence as her medical skills were professional and impressive, capable of saving their lives. Sakura went there to heal her sore leg from falling down the stairs and when she met the two doctors, a new dream and idolization for those women bloomed in her heart. She asked Tsunade to teach her medical subject and after going through several trials, the woman accepted Sakura as her apprentice. It's been five years now, Sakura'd learnt medical ninjutsu. 

"Really Sakura, in my whole life of living, I've never met someone who's as good as you in chakra control. Not even the elite ninjas from shinobi clans don't possess that kind of ability. Can't believe I'd find the perfect chakra controller in this boonies." 

Due to Tsunade's honest compliment, Sakura flushed and couldn't resist a grin.  
"I didn't even know I can do if you weren't there with me. It's all thanks to you," she grinned. 

The blonde woman nodded, "I'm glad that I can finally pass on my knowledge and skills to Shizune and someone talented like you." 

"Hai. I promise to use them properly and save people's lives." Sakura said, a grin never left her lips. Her mentor's praise made her feel so proud of herself and happy to think that she'd become someone useful to the world. 

"You are a great doctor Sakura. I'm sure you can do greater things in future. How about- 

"Sakura .... Sakura..."  
Tsunade's words were cut off by a loud shout in front of the house. 

Sakura's smile disappeared and her eyes went wide as she recognized her mother's voice.  
"Oh...shit..." She quickly washed her hands and picked her things.  
"Sorry Shishou. I forgot that I had an appointment today. You know.... I'm 18." She said, obviously not amused.

"Hahaha...I know. Family customs huh? Go try your best girl." Tsunade laughed heartily. Then she gave her a light tap on shoulder.  
"Don't look so nervous. Everything will be fine. You are an amazing girl." 

Sakura couldn't help but feel so encouraged by her words and hugged her mentor; my second mother, she thought.  
"Thank you Shishou." She pulled away and walked to the door, "Then, I'm going. See you later."  
She smiled and left the house to meet her impatient mother at the doorstep.

"Come on Sakura. It's already past noon. We have to get you ready. The matchmaker is not a patient woman." 

"I know. I know." 

Sakura let her mother drag her and marched together to their house. Truth to be told, she didn't like the idea of getting married, not one bit. She was already a doctor, the great Tsunade's apprentice. There's many things she wants to do before getting married. What if her husband is the type of man who will lock her in the house and restrict doing the job she loves. She couldn't live like that, she still wants to continue her profession.  
But for now, she couldn't refuse or say no to the appointment with the matchmaker. As an only daughter of the Haruno family, she must fulfill the will of her parents and ancestors. It's a duty, no one else but only she can complete. 

As they reached their home, Mebuki and Grandma Chiyo started preparations for their pink haired doctor. They bathed her in a tub scented with rose petals, scrubbed her skin and washed her hair. Then, they did makeup on Sakura which turned her face completely white like a doll. Eyeliner and shadows couldn't be left out. They redrew her eyebrows similar to birds's wings and paint a lotus on her wide forehead. A red lipstick was applied on her soft attractive lips. Sakura couldn't help but freak out at her own image in the mirror. She didn't even look like a normal human anymore, felt so weird. Her mother dressed her in a very tight red kimono which made her uncomfortable and she felt suffocated. Finally, they braided her long pink hair and tied it into a bun with beautifully crafted jade hairpin. Everything was done! 

"There, you're ready." Granny Chiyo happily claimed, looking at her through the mirror. Sakura smiled uneasily, she couldn't even breathe properly in tight clothes, heavy makeup and heavy hair bun. She wondered if she could walk like a normal human. 

"Bring honor to our family. Don't disgrace us, okay?" Mebuki said. 

Sakura lifted her emerald eyes to look at her mother and sighed quietly,  
"Yes, mother." 

Granny Chiyo lightly held her granddaughter's shoulder and said, " A girl can bring honor to her family, the great honor by striking a good match. Understand?" 

Sakura nodded.

"You won't fail. I've been praying to the ancestors the whole morning for luck. I'm sure they won't ignore our little cherry blossom." She claimed, but it didn't make Sakura any less nervous. 

=======================TBC


	2. Going Wrong

After that, they went to the place where the matchmaker planned to see. Sakura found that she can walk well although her body felt stiff.   
The three ladies of the Haruno family walked inside the room and found the scowling woman sitting across the table. Sakura flinched as she met the woman's gaze who seemed to be especially focusing on her. They sat down in front of her quietly. Not daring to make a sound, Sakura's eyes searched around the room. There was nothing much, just a simple room and on the table in front of her was white ceramic tea pot and tea cups. Three light candles were also standing near the tea pot. 

The scowling woman broke the silence first,  
"Haruno Sakura." 

As she heard her name, she instantly reacted to answer,  
"Hai."

"Speak without permission." 

Sakura fell back to silence. She felt glares from her mother and granny by her sides.   
Okay, we're only starting. Everything will be fine. She inwardly told herself to calm her already-mad inner just by first words of the matchmaker. 

The woman scanned her whole body slowly and said, "Too skinny. Not good for bearing sons." 

I see you're plump enough. Why don't you have one? The inner Sakura retorted. On the outside, she just sat silently without moving an inch. 

"Hair color is freaky. Attract unnecessary attention." 

Sakura bit her cheeks harshly to resist the urge of rolling her eyes out. Why on earth is that woman judging my body parts? Sakura was nervous before coming to this place, but now she was frustrated. That woman was trying to pull out every flaw and imperfections of her. There's nothing wrong with having an odd hair color, right? It didn't have anything to do with marriage. 

"Recite the final admonition." 

Sakura cleared her throat and started saying the admonition she memorized in her head very well. She proudly smirked though the woman didn't show any impressed face. Suddenly her eyes drifted to the table leg and saw the moving thing she wish she didn't see. It was a lizard! Gosh, she hates lizards. It kept climbing the table and Sakura couldn't remove her eyes off it, hands fisting in her kimono and a drop of sweat formed on her forehead. 

"Focus!" The woman's loud voice appeared making the distracted pink haired girl jolted. 

Sakura's attention went back to the woman and exasperatedly, she muttered under her breath, "Hag." 

"Did you say something?"

"No." 

"Now, pour the tea. To please your future-in-laws, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity. You must also be poised." 

Sakura leaned forward to hold the tea pot but to her dismay, the lizard was already on the table and was resting very closely to one of two tea cups. Without hesitating, she grabbed the cup which was not near the lizard. 

"Take the cup in front of you." The matchmaker said starring at her. 

She frowned and unluckily, failed to control her mouth this time.  
"What makes the difference? It's- 

"Silent!!" The woman yelled.   
The atmosphere in the room went very intense and Sakura could tell her mother and granny were making uneasy faces now. She thought maybe it was her unlucky day or she just wasn't destined to get married, which is entirely not a problem for her. 

But still, duty is duty. She had to do her best to bring honor for her parents, family and ancestors.   
Shakily, her hands grabbed the tea cup in front of her in a flash and poured the tea. Then, put it gently in front of the woman. The glaring woman took the cup and sniffed the tea. 

Sakura was about to put the tea pot back to its place when the lizard quit staying still. It climbed to the pot very quickly as soon as she put it down. A yelp left her mouth and simultaneously, her hand knocked the pot down making all tea spilled out all over the table. Some even fell upon the matchmaker's clothes. Her eyes widened as she realized what she did. 

"Why....you clumsy." The woman was furious now. She stood up abruptly to wipe the spilled tea on her cloth but her plump body crashed the table and the candle stand fell over her.  
"Oh....ah...woo...fire fire!!" 

Mebuki and Granny Chiyo went quickly to help the matchmaker. Due to loud noises and screams, other villagers came in to put out the fire.   
Sakura stood there nervously, unsure of what to do. Kami, this is my worst day ever. 

The fire was gone and all noises were silenced as the matchmaker's fuming voice appeared.  
"You are a DISGRACE. You may look like a bride, but you will NEVER bring honor to your family." She scowled pointing a finger at Sakura.   
The people who came for help started to walk away, whispering. Sakura hid her face sadly, unable to look at her mother and granny who had their hopes up for her.   
It was the day she ashamed of herself horribly. 

===========================

Sakura sat under the cherry tree near a lake. Her hair was down again, bun, braids and accessories were gone. She loosened ties of her kimono and it didn't feel suffocating anymore. All makeup on her face was removed as well. She sighed, leaning against the tree, stretching out her legs.

"I will never pass for a perfect bride," she mumbled, looking nowhere, "or a perfect daughter." 

"It's like I wasn't meant to play this part." She told herself. 

Her mother and granny Chiyo were very upset with her and she's sure they were disappointed too. The kind Grandma who loves her so much didn't say anything to her but her mother scolded a lot. Of course, they were angry, they had every right to be angry with her. She broke her family's heart, destroyed their hopes. She brought disgrace instead of honor. She had never heard other girls in the village had a fight with the matchmaker or got rejected terribly like her. She wondered if she herself was a disgrace. 

"But it's not my fault that she had fire on her."   
She pouted. Despite being sad for failing her duty, the inner Sakura was quite amused on the fact that the bossy woman got burnt. 

"Hag got what she deserves." She shrugged, pulling her knees up. 

Haruno Kizashi walked to the place where his daughter was sitting. It had been her favorite spot since she was a kid. They often spent evenings together under the cherry tree, enjoying sunsets. He sat down beside his daughter. Sakura peered at him and looked at her toes back sadly. 

"How's it going with Tsunade?" He asked. 

"Fine. Today I learned a new technique." 

"You're doing great. No surprise to me, you've always been a bright kid." 

"You think so?" She asked looking at her father. 

He turned to her and smiled widely.  
"Yes. Do you know how proud I am to have a doctor like you in my family? You make me a proud Dad." 

"Even after I messed up everything today?"

His smile didn't go away. His hand came to tug some hair behind her ear.  
"There's always a second chance. We can try again. Besides, you're a beautiful maiden. I'm sure there are many men out there dying to marry you." 

Sakura chuckled and looked away, then sighed.  
"But I brought disgrace to our family." 

"Sakura, look at the cherry blossoms. Not all flowers bloomed at the same time." Kizashi looked up to the tree and Sakura did the same. "Those which bloomed later become the most beautiful of all, I bet. And always keep in mind that whatever happened, you're still my precious daughter." 

Sakura was so relieved and happy with her father's words. Since she was young, he'd always been there for her and showed a guidance in her life. She was so thankful to have a great dad like him. 

Suddenly, drum sounds and many footsteps were heard at the center of their village. Sakura helped her father who couldn't walk properly due to the wounded leg and went to see who the strangers are. 

"They are imperial soldiers." He said. 

Everyone in the village came out to see the soldiers. Sakura stood between many people curiously. They had never came to her village as far as she remembered. She became worried if something bad happened.   
A tough-looking man came in riding a horse. There was a scroll in his hand.

"Citizens! I bring a proclamation from the Imperial City! The rain soldiers have invaded Konoha. By order of the emperor, one man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army." Then, he opened the scroll and read the listing of family names. 

"The Takahashi fmily. The Sato family." One man from the called families stepped forward to take the scrolls from the man. 

"The Haruno family." 

"What? No!" Sakura yelped and turned to grab her father's arm but he had already walked out. The man on the horse looked at the old man with wounded leg carefully.

"Don't you have any sons?" He said.

"I'm blessed with only one daughter." Kizashi replied.

The man gave the scroll to him and went back to calling other families but Sakura stopped him.

"My father had already done enough for the country. He shouldn't go." 

Everyone looked at her and the man on the horse made a displeased face.  
"Teach your daughter to hold her tongue in men's presence." He said pointing to Kizashi.

"Sakura, stay back. You dishonor me." He glared at her, taking the scroll and walked away. 

Villagers whispered again looking at her. She was gossiped twice in the same day. But she couldn't care less, she only worried about her father. Frustratedly, she ran away from that place.

==========================

The dinner at night was uncomfortably silent for the Harunos. They frequently looked at each other but no one said a word. Sakura was the first to break the silence, putting her chopsticks down. 

"Dad, you shouldn't have to go." 

"Sakura!" He frowned.

"There are plenty of young men to fight for Konoha. You...You were a warrior once. It's already enough." 

"I don't want to quarrel with my family in my last night at the village. Don't talk about it."

"But...you can't even walk properly. You know if you go, you can't come back alive." She felt tears covered her eyes. 

"It's an honor to serve and protect my country."

"You'll die for honor?" She asked bitterly. 

"I'll die doing what's right. I know my place. It's time you learn yours." He said and left the dinner. Sakura felt anger in his voice. Her mother and granny sighed but didn't say anything. Only sadness was written on their faces. 

Sakura also left the dinner and ran into her room, crying. She didn't care if people called her disgrace or a hussy. But she cared about her father. He is old and ailing. The war is very hazardous, even young men are killed. She knows he wouldn't make it, he wouldn't be coming back if she let him go. Their goodbye will be the last time and she'd lose him forever.   
She pressed her face in the pillow and cried. It's hurt a lot just to imagine a life he's gone. She hadn't even show him her success in medical field yet. At least, she wants him to see her bring honor to the family. It breaks her heart that she had to let him die before she hadn't done anything good or honorable. The last thing she did before he goes was disgrace the family.   
After crying for hours, she wiped her tears away and sat up. She just couldn't stay shedding tears and do nothing when her father was going to the death end. There must be something she could do to save him. 

"He didn't have to go if I were a boy." Her green eyes went wide at the thought and a dangerous idea popped up in her mind. She ran out of her bedroom and went to see her father's armor. She starred at them in the dark and her hand slowly held the sword. It was the moment Sakura made a decision which she couldn't fix later.

She stood in the bathroom, watching her own image in the mirror. She was determined and no one can stop her now. She had always dreamed to be a hero since she was young. Although going as a boy is really dangerous for her, it still seems a better idea than marrying and playing housewife without being allowed to be a doctor. Fortunately, Tsunade didn't only teach her medical skills, she also taught her how to fight and gained the monstrous strength like her. She's sure she could survive the war.   
With determined eyes, she held the sword and pursing her lips, she cut her long pink hair. It fell around her shoulders and she tied them in a manly bun on top of her head. A few pink strands fell to curtain her face. There was no makeup on her face. Her sharp feminine features are still there but she's sure if she changed her voice a little, she'll look like a boy. She didn't have to bother about her chest and it was the first time she felt good about her size. With just a few bindings and her chest was flattened.   
She sneaked into her parents's bedroom and stole the scroll on the table. She then wore her father's armor, it was big in her but she thought nobody would care. She went outside the house to take her family's horse. She was busied with her thoughts that didn't notice it was raining outside. The rain was falling heavily with thunder and lightnings striking everywhere. But she wouldn't go back her decision like a coward. Taking the horse, she rode out of the house. 

She was almost out of the village when there was someone standing on her way. It was her mentor standing in the rain with an umbrella.

"Shi-Shishou? What're you doing here?" She was already soaked now.

Tsunade looked up her and shook her head.  
"Damn Sakura. I know how stubborn you are but I really didn't think you'd go this far."

"How do you know I'll go?" 

"I know everything about you very well. And I felt your chakra running around." 

Sakura's mouth fell open but no word came out as she met her mentor's burning gaze.   
"Please don't stop me Shishou. I've already decided. I have to go." 

"I'm not here to stop you." The blonde woman sighed and took out something from her pocket. It was a white slug with blue stripes! 

"Hello, Sakura-chan." The little slug greeted.

"Katsuyu-sama?" 

"I can't let you go alone to that place. Take her with you. She'll be your escort." Tsunade said handing the slug to her student. 

"But..."

"I won't allow you to go if you refuse."

Sakura took the slug and it went inside her armor, behind her neck.   
"Don't worry Sakura-chan. I'll look after you."

"Hai." She smiled. Then she turned to her teacher, "Thank you Shishou. You're so good to me." 

The blonde woman sighed closing her eyes.  
"Come back alive, okay? It's an order." 

"Hai. I will. Take care of yourself Shishou."   
She said and prepared to leave. 

Tsunade nodded. Sending a grateful smile for the last time, Sakura set off the long journey to the arms.

"Good luck Sakura." Tsunade murmured, starring at her student's back. 

=========================TBC


	3. Let’s Do This

Sounds of lightning woke up the light sleeper Granny Chiyo. She heard other sounds which had nothing to do with lightning. Hurriedly, the granny jumped out of the bed and ran inside the empty room which is where her granddaughter was supposed to be sleeping. But the only thing she met was darkness. 

"Sakura is gone!!" She yelled. 

Both Kizashi and Mebuki woke up and found out that their daughter was gone along with the conscription scroll and their horse. 

"You must go after her. She could be killed." Mebuki cried.

"No, If I reveal her, she will be." The old man said painfully holding his wife and watching the angry storm outside. 

============================

"Katsuyu-sama, are we on the right path?" The pink haired girl in armor asked the little slug on her shoulder. It was morning already and the sun was shining brightly again. Her soaked clothes were half-dried and so was her hair. She ran a hand through her dirt and mud covered face, looking at the map. 

"I have no idea." It answered.

"We're going as the map says. Why don't we get there yet?" She sighed and jumped from the horse, putting the map back in her pocket. They were wandering in the forest for hours. The horse was tired and either was she. 

"Sakura-chan...let's take some rest. There are things you must prepare before going straight to the arms." 

"Hai." She sat down on the grass and lied down on the back pillowing her arms.   
Katsuyu was a magical talking slug residing in the Shikkotsu forest, personally summoned by Tsunade. She usually summoned the slug for treatments, recovering chakra or training Sakura. Therefore, Sakura and Katsuyu were well-known each other for years. It'd be a bold face lie if she said she wasn't nervous at all. She was going to the place where there are all men! But fortunately, Tsunade gave her the little escort and she felt so thankful. She wouldn't be alone at least and it's a relief to know there's someone to stop her from doing stupid things which will blow her covers. 

"Firstly, you must practice to speak like a man. If you're talking with your normal voice, it'd be too suspicious. I haven't even talk about your hair color which ain't manly at all." 

"I don't have time to change my hair color, Katsuyu-sama." Sakura sighed tiredly. 

"I know I know. It's alright. Let's practice the voice. It must be hoarse and deep without a single trace of softness or gentleness." 

Sakura sat up again and cleared her throat.  
"Ahem..hem...Hello there. Nice to meet you. I'm Haruno Sakura." She tried with a very dry voice. "How is it?" 

The slug shook her head negatively.  
"It didn't even sound like normal anymore. People will ask are you choking or something. Make a grunting voice at first." 

Sakura tried again with deep voice, making her feminine voice as harsh and hoarse as possible.  
After several minutes of voice practicing session, Sakura felt she desperately needed water to soothe her throat.   
She stood up and wiped off dust from her hips. 

"By the way, Katsuyu-sama, do i still look like a girl?" She inquired, turning her head to look at the slug on her shoulder.

"No, you look like a brat." The slug chuckled.  
"Your face is so dirty. But it's still fine after cleaning, I believe. Just be careful about your voice." 

"Hai...Hai." 

After traveling for another two days, Sakura finally made it to the camp. There were many tents on the broad field and a lot of men were walking around the place. Although a slight fear settled in her heart, the almighty Haruno Sakura won't take back her decision or run away. Fisting her hands tightly, she walked into the camp.

"Stay cool. Don't smile to anyone. Don't look nervous. And don't do anything that attracts attention." The slug whispered instructions, hiding in her collar under the armor. 

Sakura swallowed her saliva and kept walking around, but had no idea where to go exactly, there were too many tents. Young men, middle-aged men and even old men were at the place, going here and there, laughing and talking in groups. She wondered why do they look so carefree when there's a war coming.   
As she rambled the camp pulling the halter of her horse, quite oblivious to the surrounding and didn't notice something flying to her direction. 

"Oww..?!" She groaned and rubbed her head as the flying thing hit right straight to her head. Anger spread through her and she picked up the thing to see what it was. It's an empty ramen bowl! 

"Sakura-chan, you ok?" Katsuyu asked. 

"Yes." She answered and looked around to see where this thing came around. Not so far from her spot, there were two guys quarreling and the boy with blonde hair seemed to be the one who threw the ramen bowl to her direction. He was having an argument with a black-haired guy who was standing with his back to her. She walked to them , frowning and holding the bowl to tell them not to throw things at least where there were a lot of people. 

The blonde boy with bright blue eyes lost control of himself and threw a punch to his friend. Very unfortunately, the black haired boy dodged and it landed directly on Sakura who was standing right behind him.   
She fixed her balance not to fell over the ground and rubbed her burning cheek. She could even taste iron in her mouth. 

"Ugh..." Spitting the blood out, she looked at the blonde boy angrily but he didn't even seem to know her existence and was desperately trying to hit his friend.   
Okay, her endurance was gone now. 

"Rule No.5 Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight." The slug warned worriedly. 

"Forgive me this time, Katsuyu-sama." Sakura gritted her teeth and clenching her fists, she walked to the blonde boy.   
She tapped his shoulder to get the attention and when he turned to look at her surprisedly, she punched him fiercely, of course without her chakra, but still a powerful punch.

He fell to the ground and looked at her confusedly, touching his face.  
"Why the hell did you punch me?" He shouted, standing up.

"You're the one to ask. You threw this stupid thing on my head and just punched me in my face." She said, holding the bowl and pointing her bruised cheek.

"Your voice. Your voice. Be careful." The slug said in hurry.

She cleared her throat and changed her voice.  
"See? But I didn't even get a single word of sorry. Don't you have any morality? You scumbag!" 

"Hey, who are you calling scumbag? You bastard!" The black-haired boy was forgotten and all his attention was fully on the pink-haired stranger now.  
"It was just an accident, dattebayo. You were standing in the way." 

"Don't you understand you just can't throw things around in such a place or punch anyone's face. Behave yourself and apologize me." She hissed.

"What? You just punched the shit out of me. So, we're fair 'ttebayo. You pink-haired bastard." Suddenly, he looked at her carefully and narrowed his eyes at her.  
"Wait, what kind of man has pink hair? Are you a cotton candy seller?" He scoffed. 

"Keep this cotton candy thing in your ass. Don't judge my hair. Look at yourself. What kind of man has whiskers on his cheeks? Do you have cat ears or tails too?" 

"Teme..."   
He darted towards her and then, they started a fight. Sakura was not someone who run away from this kind of situation. And she believed this loud blonde needs to learn some manners as well. 

Everyone walking around became interested in their fight and watched them, standing in circle, clapping and whistling.

"Naruto just got here today and he had started a fight. But surprisingly, not with Sasuke." The orange-haired boy said with a mouthful of potato chips. The boy beside him glanced at the fight and yawned lazily. He had black hair which he tied them highly on his head. Sighing, he shook his head slowly and went back to his job of doing absolutely nothing. 

The place got louder and noisier. Sakura got bruised a lot and so did her opponent. She didn't think he'd be so persistent. No man had ever fought her like that before. Well.., there would be no holding back now.   
Suddenly, it happened so fast, she didn't even notice or see it. All she felt was someone pulled her around and kicked her on the stomach. The next thing she knew was her body hitting the ground with a terrific thud.   
She thought it was the blonde guy who kicked her but when she turned to see him, it seemed the same thing happened to him and he was lying on the ground, whimpering.

Pressing her stomach, she searched for the one who interfered their fight. Found...  
A man standing between them with hands in his pockets. He wore a black pants, a black long sleeves shirt with their country symbol and a dark green jacket. A red cloth was tied to his right arm. As she studied him from bottom to top, her eyes finally reached his head. He had silver hair, the fluffy silver hair!   
He looked down at her and their eyes met, Sakura noticed a black fabric mask covering the half of his face and an eyepatch covering his left eye. Basically, all she could see was his hair and the right eye, which has the charcoal color!

Sakura stood up and shot a glare at the blonde guy who's still rubbing his head. 

"Kakashi-sensei you are so mean." The boy grumbled. 

"Sensei??" Sakura shocked. "Do they know each other? Who is that cool-looking man?"

"I think I have warned, Naruto. No fight here." He said, his tone was deep and, much to Sakura's amaze, intimidating...

"Jeez- he punched me first. He started this." The blonde said loudly. 

"What? You're saying like you-  
Her words died at her throat as lone charcoal eye looked into her emerald ones. 

"Sakura-chan...calm down and be careful with your words and voice too. He looks so skeptical." The slug whispered. 

"Did you punch him?" He asked. 

"Yes." She bit her lips. "But he's the first who hit me with a bowl and punched my face." 

"I told you it was an accident 'ttebayo!" 

"But you didn't- 

"Stop!" 

They both shut their mouths as the masked man interrupted. He just looked so serious that Sakura couldn't help but felt intimidated.   
He walked to her till he was standing right in front of her, only a few inches away. At that moment, Sakura thought her heart was gonna jumped out of her mouth. His black eye was observing her carefully. Shit...Did he find out I'm a girl? 

"What's your name?" He asked, driving all her thoughts away. 

Sakura dared a look at him and asked him back, "Who are you?" 

"Answer my question."

Knowing she couldn't find a way out of this mess if she didn't answer him, she gave in.   
"My name is Haruno Sak-   
Oh my Gosh!! She almost slipped out her real name. Almost...Almost.... All hell would break loose if she blurted out like that. Sakura isn't the kind of name that men usually have.   
The slug on her shoulder was moving back and forth signaling her to do something fast. 

"Satoru...Haruno Satoru." Finally, she said it. She had never thought about changing her name on the way, it didn't even cross her mind. And it's her fault for forgetting something important. She said a name that came to her mind at the moment, what she thinks boyish. 

The silver haired man touched his chin and made a posture of thinking deeply.   
"Haruno....Kinda heard that name somewhere." 

Sakura's eyes became as wide as the blonde's ramen bowl and her breaths stopped without even herself noticing.   
Did...Did he know my family? I-It's the end? All my efforts are .... nothing?

His hands fell back to his sides,  
"I don't remember," he said nonchalantly. Shrugging the broad shoulders, he walked away leaving the stunned pink haired soldier behind. 

"I'll say again. Fights between soldiers are not tolerated here. You'll get punishment next time. If worse, you will be announced as an outlaw and must leave the army immediately."  
He said looking both Sakura and Naruto, then to everyone around them.   
"Being exiled from the army won't be as pleasant as you think, believe me. So, Don't break the rules."   
He gave an eye-closed smile and turned to leave. But one of the men called out. 

"Wait..Who are you?"

"Oh...my bad. I forgot the introduce myself. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I'll be your commander for the coming battle." Men made a sound of wonder and whispered each other. There are some who had already heard his name.   
"Sort of ..captain..I guess." He shrugged.   
"Training starts tomorrow at sunrise. Don't be late. And you two..." he said looking at the two bruised fighters, "Go to infirmary. You can't get hurt without even starting a training yet. And everyone, you can rest the night. Don't be late tomorrow." Then, he left. 

Sakura let out a heavy sigh as she saw the man moving away. She felt the blonde beside her shift and they glared at each other for minutes. Then, with a "Humph", both turned their backs to each other and walked away. 

"Thank goodness Sakura-chan! We almost got caught." Katsuyu said relieved. 

"Yeah..I thought I'm doomed. That man with mask is dangerous. I must stay as far from him as possible." 

"Don't get into fights again Sakura-chan. I'm scared. And I don't want to see you get in trouble." 

Sakura smiled softly,  
"Hai Hai." 

===========================

As Sakura didn't know which tent to stay in, she asked for a new tent at the storage and luckily, the guy in green suit with round eyes and thick eyebrows gave her a new one without complaining. He was the nicest guy she met at this place.   
The army gave them new clothes and weapons. Sakura came to notice that only very few men wore armors like her. Many wore ordinary shirts and pants, even the silver haired man and the annoying blonde. Weapons are kunais and shurikens as basic, others are optional like swords, bows and arrows or spears. She only took basic weapons although she she didn't know how to use them properly. In fact, she didn't know how to use all of them! 

When night falls, she went to a stream to take bath and clean herself. It was quite far away from their camp and she's pretty sure no man would bother coming to the stream or at least they won't, at this time of night.   
She was right. She had a peaceful and relaxing bath in the stream. After an hour of soaking in the water, she came back to her tent wearing the cloth they gave. Katsuyu said she indeed looked like a boy in this cloth, yes, it was manly, light and comfortable, she found herself liking it. 

"Sakura-chan I think you should go to infirmary to treat your bruises." The slug reminded.

"Aw...Katsuyu-sama, you know I can treat them myself very well. Why should I bother going there?" She replied, lying on her mattress.   
"Just a few minutes and I will heal them all." 

"I know you can. But if the commander knows you didn't go there and bruises are gone, he will ask many questions and that will raise suspects. You say you want to stay away from him." 

"You're right, I'll go there to ask some ointment and come back quickly." She stood up quickly and went outside the tent, hiding the little slug in her shirt. 

There were three large tents, said to be the infirmary and she went into the one nearest to her.   
In the tent, there was only a woman with long blonde ponytail sitting on the table and writing something. 

"Ahem...I want an ointment for injury." Sakura started and the woman looked up from writing.   
When their eyes met, both of them were shocked and Sakura froze on the spot. Then, she slipped out a name from her mouth before she couldn't even stop herself.

"Ino?" 

"Sakura?! What the hell!!" The blonde girl with pale blue eyes shouted. 

"Shuu...quiet..quiet...people will hear your voice." She ran to her table and sat on the chair. 

"I don't understand. What are you doing here? And why are you wearing like a soldier?"

"Relax. I will explain everything. Just don't let anyone know that I'm female. Okay? Or else, I will be killed." 

"Sakura....you and I got separated 7 years ago and I never thought our reunion would be in the army. Why are you doing this dangerous thing?" She asked, reaching out to hold her pink haired friend's hand. 

"And you? What are you doing here? I don't remember you being a medic." 

The blonde girl released her hand and sighed, "After I moved out from the village, my dad sent me to a medical school and trained for four years and I became a medic shinobi. Now, the war is coming and there are lack of doctors in the army. My dad was also working with them, but not in this camp, he asked me to volunteer. I couldn't deny it." She explained. 

"I see. Glad to hear that you've become a doctor. Like me." Sakura smirked.

"Wait..you too? How?" 

"After you left , an excellent doctor came to our village and she accepted me as her apprentice. I have learned a lot of medical jutsus." She said, feeling so proud to tell her childhood rival about this.

"What a coincidence...So tell me Forehead. What kind of shit you're getting yourself into?"  
She asked crossing her arms.

"Well...briefly, I screwed up the meeting with matchmaker and was tilted to be the disgrace. At the same day, the conscription arrived and my old father was willing to die for his oh-so-precious honor." She snorted, looking away. "That's it. I couldn't let my father die pathetically in this war. Not until I have done something good for him. So I stole the scroll and came here in disguise." 

"You think coming instead of him is good for him?" The blonde asked raising an eyebrow.

"At least, he won't be killed." 

"Okay..look, I can keep your secret and I'm really happy to see you again. But something happens, I don't know you and I have never seen you. Okay?" 

"Yes. Of course, I understand. I'm also happy to meet you." She said smiling. 

"God, you really look like a boy in that suit. If not for the pink hair and green eyes, I won't recognize you." She laughed. 

After talking for minutes, Sakura took what she needs and went back to her tent. She couldn't stay longer, someone can see or hear them. But she was more than relieved to see her best friend back in that kind of place. Happiness took away all her mysteries and worries for that night.   
When she got back to the tent, she healed all her injuries and quickly drifted into sleep. She had traveled a long journey and training at sunrise was waiting, right? 

===========================TBC


	4. No Giving Up Zone

Sakura woke up from the most pleasant slumber she'd ever experienced the next morning. She had a truly good night sleep though it was her first time sleeping outside, with a tent. The first thing she felt was the warmth of the rising sun and the second was....it was....something...on her forehead...something like goo? She rubbed a hand on her face and touched the slimy shining substance on her forehead.

"Ugh......Gross. What the hell Katsuyu-sama, did you sleep on my forehead?" She mumbled, trying to fully open her sleepy eyes. 

"No." The slug chuckled, "I was just trying to wake you up. You have a training today, remember?" 

"Shit.." Sakura sat up quickly and looked outside. Sunrise. My ass! She's gonna be late on her first training day for sure.  
She changed her clothes to black shirt and pants, along with a green vest, not exactly like the one commander had. Put her hair into a boyish bun, cleaned her face and darted to the training field although her empty stomach was protesting.  
Yesterday was just her first day in army and she got hit, punched and kicked. It was already bad enough. She was late in second day. It couldn't get any worse. But then again, after the massive mess she made yesterday, it's very important for her to stay as invisible as possible, especially in the eyes of that silver-haired commander or whatever. 

"Okay, today, listen to your teacher and no fights. Play nice with other boys. Don't do anything that attracts attention." Sakura's personal instructor reminded, hiding in her shirt. 

"Hai..Hai.." 

When she got to the training field, all soldiers in the camp seemed to be gathering there except the mask-wearing man she's planning to avoid. Sakura blew out hot air from her mouth in relief. 

Thanks god. He hasn't arrived yet. Wait... he told us not to be late. But he is allowed to come late? Such a pain in the ass! 

Sakura stood in a certain spot crossing her arms and looked around. Then she saw the loud blonde she had fought with yesterday, talking to his friend who showed no interest in him or whatever the blonde's talking about. Sakura snorted in annoyance and was about to look away when her eyes noticed the black-haired boy with expressionless face. He was so handsome?! The black hair fell around his face perfectly and those well-defined jawlines were so attractive. The two deep black eyes seemed to have the intense gaze. She had never seen a man looking so good like him. Then, her eyes blinked and she remembered their intimidating commander. He seemed to be a good-looking man too but she couldn't tell exactly with the mask on. Maybe he had an ugly face under that mask, she thought. 

"Yo" 

A voice which seemed to come from above appeared and everyone lifted their heads to see the owner of the voice. It was no other than their silver haired commander. He was crouching on top of the pole which exists in the middle of the field. He slid down easily holding the pole with a hand and bending one leg against it.  
Sakura was amazed by his entry and with her mouth fell open, she desperately looked for answers to when did he arrive and how did he get to the top of the pole without them noticing.

"Today training is..." he paused, standing with hands in pockets, "climbing this pole. You can use your chakra if you're able to use. This is the first of other coming harsh trainings. You must pass through all of them to survive in war. I don't make any promises here. We are living in the cruel world. But I'd say you can survive. Anyone who fails the trainings will be sent home." 

Sakura gasped. She could use chakra. But she had never used chakra other than healing and fighting, especially in climbing this kind of insanely high poles. 

"Now who wants to try first?" 

Silence. Everyone went silent. Even for the ones who can use chakra, it was still difficult to climb the pole. Sakura stood there like a statue, taking gentle shallow breaths, didn't dare to make any sound.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and finally broke the silence, "I believe our late comer wants to be the first one to try this." He said looking directly into Sakura's eyes. 

Everyone looked at her and she was convinced he was telling her, no one but her. Her luck was gone since the time she came here, she thought.  
And How the hell did he know I was late? 

Sighing, she stepped forward. She had to try at least. She left her home to save her father. She only wants to come back with victory, not like a pathetic loser. How difficult it is, she will go through all and try with everything she got not to be sent home and prove everyone here that she is a strong warrior.  
Sakura glanced at the commander who was waiting for her near the pole. She was pretty sure there was a smirk under the mask. She could even remember his name. Hatake? Yeah...that Hatake something is a pain in the ass. I wish I could beat him in the war. 

She prepared to climb the pole when he called her, "Wait...we are missing something. Sorry, my bad." 

He opened a box and pulled out two giant medals tied together with a cloth. He held them up to let everyone see.  
"You will need them to reach the top. One represents strength and the other discipline. You can't get to the top without both of them." 

Then he turned around and handed the medals to surprise-looking pink haired soldier. Their finger tips touched at the act and Sakura tried to ignore how her heart jumped at this moment and focused on what she had to do right now.  
Inhaling and exhaling deeply, she summoned her chakra to her feet and started to climb tying the cloth of medals to both hands. It was the extremely difficult training. Her hands were shaking due to the weight of the medals and sweat covered all her skin. The pole was lubricated and it made even more difficult to reach the top. Every time she moved an inch upwards, she could feel her legs sliding back. Besides, it was so nerve wrecking being watched by a lot of eyes in her current awkward position.  
Sakura was almost at the halfway of the pole when she lost her balance due to the heat, sweat, pain and fatigue, falling to the ground on her back with a terrible thud. All she could do was sigh in relief that it wasn't her neck. She lay on the ground trying to catch her breath and met the lone charcoal eye looking down at her. 

"We've got a long way to go."  
She heard him say without breaking the eye contact.  
A loud sound of laughter came from no other than the blonde with whiskered cheeks and Sakura looked at him sharply. She stood up wiping the dust off of her clothes and went back to her place, shooting a deadly glare at the laughing boy. 

"How about our energetic boy Naruto be the second one to try?" Kakashi said. 

"Of course. I will get to the top just in seconds. Just watch me." He relieved his tense shoulder muscles and came to grab the medals. When he took them, the blue eyes went wide, obviously startled by the weight of the medals in his hand. Sakura smirked knowingly looking at his expression and waited to enjoy a little show coming in few minutes.  
Just like she expected, Naruto didn't even get to the halfway and fell miserably on his ass. Sakura snickered and wondered if his hip bones were cracked.  
The blonde mumbled something vaguely and talked about trying again. But the commander, of course, said only one at a time. The stubborn boy scowled and went back rubbing his hips.  
The next one was his friend whose name is Sasuke. He passed through the halfway and almost reached the top but like the previous ones, he failed. The unexpected thing was before he landed on the ground, he controlled the balance and fell on his feet gracefully, which Sakura thought really cool.  
As a lot of men tried one by one, Sakura learned that only some men from shinobi clans can use chakra very well. Some had it but quite unable to use it properly. A few couldn't use chakra at all. Almost everyone failed the pole climbing training but there was one boy who succeeded it. Sakura didn't catch his name but noticed the prominent feature of his lazy eyes. He was the only one who reached to the top with both medals. Their commander said some praise-like words to him and all he did was hummed and walked away in slump form. Sakura was impressed by him anyway. 

At breakfast break, they went to a field with many wooden tables. The breakfast was chicken soup, not delicious but good enough to provide nutrition. 

"Get out of my way Shrimp." Sakura taunted the talking blonde who's blocking her way. 

"Shrimp? Don't call me Shrimp, you pink fur donkey." 

"What are you- 

Sakura held her tongue as the attractive black-haired man was starring at her and other men seemed to be looking at their way. Not wanting to start a fight again, she sucked her teeth, made a shit-eating face and walked past the blonde, knocking his shoulder. She found a vacant seat and sat down putting her tray angrily. 

"Naruto is very nice and friendly guy. You'll see it in no time." 

She heard someone beside talked to her and turned to look at him. 

"Hey, you are the one who passed the training," She grinned happily. The boy only hummed in response.  
"It was so amazing. How did you do it?" 

"I can use shadow binding jutsu. I bound my legs with shadow not to trip over." He replied, taking in one spoon of soup to his mouth. 

"So....you are from Shinobi clan?" Sakura asked in awe. 

"Yeah..." 

"He's from the Nara family, well-known for intelligence and shadow binding jutsu. His father is the advisor of the emperor." Another guy beside him said. 

"Whoaa...Sugoii....What's your name? And you too." She asked excitedly to both guys.

"Shikamaru." 

"I'm Choji. Akimichi Choji from Akimichi clan." The orange-haired boy introduced himself.

"So, you're from Shinobi clan too? So amazing. I'm just a guy from a very far village, born in farmer family. But my dad used to serve the emperor decades ago." She said, forgetting to eat her own food. "Oh, My name is Haruno Satoru." 

"I know. You fought with Naruto yesterday. Pretty tough." The Nara boy remarked.  
"You'll like him when you know him. He's just a little dumb and have annoying mouth." 

"Humph.....I don't think so. I still want to punch him in the face." She snorted.

"It's good not to mess with him, you know. He's from the Shinobi clan too, and also a royalty." Choji said eating his potato chips which was hidden in his pockets.

"What?!?! That...obnoxious shrimp is royalty???!!"  
Sakura yelped standing up abruptly and then, sat back. Her jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Yeah...his great grandmother is the wife of the first emperor, the Uzumaki family. And his dad is first-class shinobi, one of the great generals." Choji continued, not bothering to stop eating as he talked. 

"Unbelievable...." She muttered starring at her cold soup. "And...who is his friend? The black-haired one with cool eyes. Is he royalty too?"

"Nope. But he's a noble. The youngest son of the most noble family in Konoha, the Uchihas."

"Uchiha? I've heard that name somewhere. The people who are blessed with magic eyes?" Sakura couldn't help but intrigued by their talk. 

"It's called sharingan. Very dreadful weapon. You never want to fight with them alone." 

"Ah...yeah...that something-gan. Whoa...they're so amazing. I'm jealous." 

"Those two are childhood friends. And our commander, Kakashi-taichou used to teach them basic ninja skills." 

"That's how they know each other," she realized.

"You better eat your soup. There'll be more trainings before lunch time." Shikamaru said, he'd almost finished his own.

"Hai. Itadakimatsu." She mumbled inattentively, blurting out without changing her voice and the last word sounded very feminine. It was almost a whisper but she was sure the Nara boy beside her heard it as he looked at her strangely. She fake-coughed and cleared her throat ignoring his stare and ate her breakfast. She could only hoped that he thought she had a sore throat.

The rest of the training went pretty exhausting to make sure the soldiers had good stamina. They had to run up the mountain six times with water-filled buckets. Sakura was fine till the fourth time. But she was worn out on fifth time. Her legs were shaking and her back carrying the buckets hurt like hell. 

"Not yet... Not yet... I'm not giving up. I'm not going back home like a loser." She brought her hand to her neck and green chakra glowed to ease the back pain. Gritting her teeth, the pink haired soldier continued her way to the mountain top.  
Next exercises were 1000 push ups and 1000 sit ups. They were exhausting but not a problem for her thanks to the woman who taught her medical jutsus. Tsunade made Sakura do even more harsh trainings since she was 13. And the last one was sparring session without any weapons. 

At night, Sakura was beat-up, couldn't even feel her limbs anymore. But fighting spirit is still firmly living inside her. If she couldn't survive the trainings, there's no way she'd be alive in war. Then, her parents, her family, her teacher would be unhappy and disappointed in her. At least, she still wants to see them proud of her as a hero who saved the country.  
For now, only her mental strength exists and her physical strength was all drained by their pain-in-the-ass commander. All she needed now was a good bath and a good night sleep. 

Sakura sneaked out to the stream she had bathed yesterday in shirt and pants. She put Katsuyu and night robes on the stone nearby. She grasped the hem of her shirt to take off but her hands stopped as someone jumps from a tree beside her. She yelped and jumped in surprise, crossing her hands on her chest as a defense. The man standing in front of her was their one and only hottie commander. He was watching her with lazy eyes and a orange book in his hand. For a moment, Sakura thought she was gonna get killed. But she hadn't take off her shirt. He couldn't find out her secret, could he? 

He showed her an eye-creased smile putting his book in his back pouch.  
"You're quite resilient, huh? I didn't really expect that." 

"Hmm...eh...well...I-I think so." She said nervously trying not to look at his eyes. 

"I thought I will have to send you back home but I've changed my mind." He shrugged. 

"Umm....thanks?" 

He looked at her for a moment and scratched his neck, "right, you're taking a bath. I'm gonna go. Don't worry. Nobody came here this time. Relax well. See you tomorrow." He waved her and disappeared in smoke. 

Sakura sighed and couldn't help but wondered what kind of jutsu did he use to go like that. Then, her sensible side warned her something she missed earlier. 

"What did he mean by don't worry." She widened her eyes and the clothes she was holding fell to the ground. She muttered covering her mouth with a hand.  
"Don't tell me he knows....." 

==========================TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ✨✨ Just a warning guys! This story will have ShikaIno as second pairing. I kinda ship those two and wanted to give them a story. I’m sorry if this bothers you. Gomen TwT 😿


	5. Meanie Commander

After a nice long bath, the pink hair soldier came back to her tent in brown robes and black pants. She had calmed all her nerves down in the cold water, telling herself not to overthink and to act cool all the time in army. At least, acting cool and calm will not raise suspicions and she can make it to the war in boy disguise without any problem, go back home in victory. If that weird commander knew something, there's no way he would keep her in the army, right? She'd probably been killed or sent back home like a criminal if he had little mercy. So, she'll just keep her disguise and try hard to be a remarkable warrior. Her medical skills would also be useful in the war, she had no doubt in herself. The only thing she needs to do is that not to blow her covers at all cost! 

As she reached her tent, she saw a soldier in uniform standing outside crossing his arms. He had long dark brown hair which fell around the middle of his back. He was tall, lean and had a very nice-looking body. She curiously but slowly walked near him to inquire about his business with her.   
As the boy saw her, he dropped his arms and spoke,

"Are you Haruno Satoru?" 

"Yes. Can I help you?" She asked, noticing his pale pearl eyes and well-defined jawline. 

"New recruits aren't allowed to sleep alone in a private tent. You must move in with others right now." He said authoritatively. 

"What? The boy in storage tent told me no problem. And I've already spent one night here. Can you ignore me please? I swear I won't do anything troublesome." She begged. Sleeping together with boys was the least thing she wanted to do. 

"He is also a new guy, not familiar with rules. This is the commander's order. If you deny, we will have to exile you." 

Her eyes widened in dismay and her lips moved a lot of times but no word came out. So it was the commander. The hot but fucking annoying mask-lover commander.   
She bit her lips inwardly swearing the trouble-giver silver-haired man and nodded finally.

"I'll pack my things." 

He nodded back and said "We've found you a tent with a vacant spot. All tents have six men but this one still lacks one man. It's tent 4 in camp B." 

"I see. I'll go there right away." She said, swallowing all her anger and frustrations. 

"Okay then. Try to get along with others. Don't make any mess with them." 

Sakura lifted an eyebrow like "seriously?" but he had already left not bothering to look at her face or say another word. 

"What an ass!" She mumbled glaring at the boy's back and went inside the tent grudgingly. 

"Really, Katsuyu-sama my luck doesn't exist anymore since I came here. First, I met shitty guy and then I got shitty commander and now, I had to share a tent with other men. I just hope they won't be shitty like the blonde shrimp." She said packing her clothes. 

"Well...you have to be more careful now. You know, five men together in a tent and you're the only girl." The slug sighed.

"I know. I couldn't let my guard down even for a second. But I'm well used to faking voice. God, I only hope there's no snoring men. Please grant my wish this time, Kami-sama." She prayed closing her eyes and hands in worshipping form.

"And please don't do anything stupid or suspicious. You're making me shake my eyebrows all the time in front of men." 

"Yeah...Just one thing. You don't have eyebrows." She mockingly said wearing her boots. 

The poor slug shook her head slowly and hid in Sakura's collar behind her neck.

Finally she left for the tent where she was submitted to be. She walked through camp B looking for the said tent 4. All tents in here seemed to be larger than hers, big enough for six men to live in. Inside them, she noticed two large beds were placed facing each other. It could be three persons in one bed, she noted. As she saw the number 4 written on the sheet of a tent, she went in calmly only to be welcomed by a loud scream. 

"Hey!!!! You donkey face, why are you inside our tent?" Said by no one but Naruto, the royalty. 

"Shrimp??? Your tent??? This is where you're staying??" She asked unbelievably. This is it. Now she understands, Kami wasn't ignoring her. He was making things more difficult, more troublesome for her. She was a doctor and saved lives. What did she do to deserve this? Sakura didn't even bother hiding her rolling eyes.   
"I was told to move here by some touch face boy with weird eyes." 

"It's Neji. He's a superior of us." The lying boy on the other bed said, hands on the back of his head. 

"What? So you're the new one to live with us." The whiskered cheek blonde pointed his finger to the annoy-looking pink haired soldier. His cool black-haired showed zero interest in either of them.

"Wait! Shikamaru, right? Are you here too?"  
The boy nodded, yawning.   
"And also Choji?" She asked. The orange-haired boy next to Shikamaru only hummed, too busy with his potato chips.

"Well...as my wish to stat away from obnoxious shrimp didn't happen, guess I'll just have to cope with it. At least I won't be sleeping in the same bed with you." She scowled and went to put her bags down on the opposite bed of the blonde's but to her disappointment, that place was already taken by someone else.

"Sorry Satoru. There was a new guy who came before you has taken this place. There's only one vacancy in Naruto and Sasuke's bed." The non-stop eating boy said. 

"What?" Sakura glanced at the blonde with a frown who was grimacing. Then she turned back to Choji.  
"Where is this new guy?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before here. He just left his things and went out." 

"Great." She sighed, blowing some hair strands on her face. She placed her bags exasperatedly beside the bed.  
"I won't sleep in the middle." 

"Not my problem." The blonde crossed his arms and looked away from her.

After long minutes inside the tent, Sakura didn't know how to spend time. It was already night but still early for her to fall asleep. Leaning against the wall on the edge of the bed, she peered the Nara boy who seemed very contented with doing nothing at all. The Akimichi boy had eaten lots of chips and now fell asleep, snoring. But Sakura was thankful that it wasn't loud enough to annoy her. And lastly, the great royalty boy Naruto never stopped talking shit with his friend who was as cold as ice. She wondered how could he put up with this talkative shrimp all the time. Or maybe was he deaf? But she sometimes heard him answering the blonde. Anyway, it's quite obvious that the Uchiha boy only cared about his business. 

Suddenly, a boy with red paints on his face came inside their tent and went next to Choji, followed by a giant white dog. The five soldiers widened their eyes at the animal and the brown-haired boy, looking at him strangely.

The chestnut haired boy cleared his throat and introduced himself,  
"Ahemm...My name is Inuzuka Kiba. I'll be your....tent-mate? I just arrived here this evening as I was lost on the way." He explained sitting on the bed. The dog also sat down beside his leg. 

"You lost on the way?" Naruto said narrowing his eyes. 

"Yeah...I was wandering in the woods for about five days. Thanks goodness that my buddy and I didn't die starving." He replied petting his dog.

"You won't die starving for only five days."She said. He looked like a young healthy man after all. "Anyway, why is a dog with you? I heard pets are not allowed here." 

At the word "dog", the red-painted face boy glared at her and his dog growled.   
"His name is Akamaru. He is not a dog, a highly-trained ninken for battles and more intelligent than ordinary dogs." The white dog made happy sounds and nodded in agreement. 

"I see you're an Inuzuka. Ninjas who fight with ninkens." The unbelievably lazy boy said. 

"That's right." The chestnut haired boy agreed.   
Suddenly he looked at Sakura and sniffed around her suspiciously.  
"You smell different."

Everyone in the tent looked at her and she immediately found a reason not to get caught. She knew men and women smell quite differently.  
"T-This is my own natural scent. Do you have any problem?" She said with a fake-annoyed face.   
The boy shook his head and shrugg away, missing Sakura's relieved silent sigh. This guy didn't only talk to dogs. He had a dog's nose. This must be kakkei genkai of their clan, she mused. 

Sakura was amazed to meet another boy from a ninja clan. They sure had wonderful abilities. So this means she was the only one in the tent who is just an ordinary peasant citizen with no ninja clan background and no special ability. She felt discouraged at the thought but immediately shooed that away. She may be a peasant but not ordinary, she was a doctor taught by the great Tsunade herself. She shouldn't compare herself with anyone. She just had to focus on their trainings and survive in the raging war.  
That night, they introduced the new boy, shared a good talk and went to sleep. 

===========================

Next morning, the worn out Haruno Sakura aka Haruno Satoru found herself standing in the training field earlier than others. Dark circles were laying under her eyes as a proof of not getting enough sleep. The reason was, of course, the incredibly loud snoring of the oh-so-great royalty, Naruto. She couldn't believe how she was the only one who suffer this. The other boys in the tent seemed to have no problem and fell asleep very well. Maybe she was super sensitive to sounds. As she was tired, she didn't do anything to the blonde in the morning and left for training. But she swore if he snored again tonight, she'd beat him to death. Another problem was the pain in her whole body. It was like she was beaten up continuously for a week. Her muscles were sore and so were her limbs. She may be a medic but not a magician. She couldn't make all these pains disappear instantly. She thought she'd go find Ino to take some aspirin after training.   
Everyone was in the field by the time the sun rises. This time, their commander was not late. He was standing against a tree and reading an orange-covered book. Sakura wondered what book it was that he was so interested. She turned to ask Kiba who was standing beside her with a dog. 

"Hey, do you know what's he reading?" She asked pointing a chin to the silver-haired man. 

"Hmm?...." Kiba looked at the direction she pointed and grinned, "Aw....It's an erotic novel. I have read once. Not a bad one." 

"Do you mean porn? He's reading porn? In public?" 

"Yeah..It's quite bold of him to read in public. I read it in my room alone. The contents are pretty explicit. I even blushed reading it." He laughed. Then he watched her with wide eyes. "Don't tell me you want to read. I don't think he will lend you." 

"What? No! Gross. I'm not interested in this kind of things." 

"Wow...you must be a saint!" He remarked.

Sakura shook her head and tried to get the man out of her mind. Today, their training involved kunais and shurikens. With those weapons, they had to try to hit the target. Men from ninja clans were already familiar with them and some had already mastered it, like Uchiha Sasuke. For citizens like Sakura, it's the first time using those weapons but a lot of them could overcome the difficulty with hard work. The only unusual thing was that their trainer wasn't only Kakashi anymore. Two more shinobis who claimed themselves as the same rank of the commander appeared to help in training the new recruits. One had a funny bowl cut hair and bushy eyebrows in green jumpsuit. The other one was quite handsome with brown hair and a beanie, sucking a senbon in his mouth. They strolled around the field to teach and watch the trainees. 

Sakura wiped a sweat on her forehead as she threw three kunais to the target. Two hours had passed and she couldn't still hit the center yet. The kunais were sticking only at the edges and some missed the target. Katsuyu was whispering possible ways to hit the target but the problem was the slug herself had never thrown a kunai before. So she wasn't of much help to Sakura. 

"You cannot hit the target if you hold the kunai like that." 

A deep husky voice came out of nowhere and sent shivers down her spine. As she felt a presence behind her, she quickly turned her head and her nose bumped a masked cheek. The slug on her neck slid down and hid in pant pocket. He looked at her back and their faces were only a few inches away. Sakura blushed furiously noticing her heart skipped a beat and was now pounding at high speed. She could even smell his woody scent so closely, strong and muscular, reminding her of a forest. Without wasting any more seconds, she cut their eye contact and turned her head back to its previous position.   
"Damn it ...I didn't notice him coming. And how did he arrive so suddenly?" 

"The way you hold kunais is wrong." He said, pressing his rock hard body to her back. Simultaneously, his arm rose to wrap his half-gloved fingers around her small hand, showing her how to hold properly.   
Sakura tried to focus on the teaching and not on how his large hands were touching her but failed terribly. His warm hands were so distracting and the worse is she could feel his breath tickling her naked neck which was not covered by her clothes, making all her hair in neck area jolt upright. Adrenaline rushed through her body and the thing she wanted most at this time was to lean back on him, close her eyes and sighed in content. Of course, she didn't do that.   
The silver haired man wrapped his fingers more firmly around her long slender ones and threw the kunais toward the target. To Sakura's surprise, they all hit the center spot exactly. 

"See? It's not difficult." He said with a husky voice again, brushing his masked lips over her ear. Sakura couldn't help but closed her eyes at the contact and let out a shaky breath. Her face was a tomato now.   
"You have the potential. I believe you can become a great warrior like your father. Keep trying Sa-to-ru."   
With those last words, he vanished leaving the blushing girl alone. Finally Sakura got a chance to relieve. But she could still feel his muscular body pressing her and his fingers wrapping hers, his smell so-   
She shook her head fiercely, driving out those thoughts away. She didn't what was happening to her but her logical medic side was telling the truth; She just got turned on by the meanie commander! 

==========================

Later that night, 

The silver haired shinobi stood outside with hands in pockets, looking at the fully bright moon and enjoying the cold night. Another shinobi was coming towards him, he reached out.

"Hatake, I got a letter from your father." He said waving an envelope. 

Without any words, the commander took the letter and started to read. His senbon-sucking friend was waiting to get response. The commander's face was calm, impossible to read expressions, especially with the mask on.   
He folded the letter again and put it in his vest pocket. 

"What did he say?" The impatient man asked.

"They have left the southern camp and were on their way to Tagawa village." His hands went back to the pockets and his serious eyes, starring at the dark forest ahead of them.

"We have only three days from now." 

==========================TBC


	6. Unwelcome Chaos

*** Next day evening ***

Sakura went for the infirmary after a long day of training. She planned to go there yesterday but she was so exhausted that couldn't carry her legs anymore. So last night, she fell asleep earlier than boys and fortunately with all love and mercy of god, she didn't happen to hear any snoring noises. This morning Sakura was so energetic and cheerful. But the evening Sakura needed to take some aspirin and reboost her exhausted body. Maybe she'll have a little chat with Ino too. Those all long years couldn't erase her childhood favorite hobby of gossiping. She knew it'd be dangerous but she just had to spill out about her displeasing ass-days to someone like her friend.  
As she reached the tent, she walked inside searching for a certain blonde girl. There was only a medic about her age with two buns on her head was checking medical supplies boxes. The brunette noticed her presence and lifted her eyes to ask, 

"Can I help you?" 

Sakura hesitated as she wasn't expecting to see another medic but managed to say the right words.  
"Yes, actually. I was hoping if you could give me some aspirin or something like that." 

"Sure. Training effects, huh?" She smirked taking a bottle from a shelf.

"You can never imagine." She said nonchalantly.   
The brunette gave an understanding smile and handed the pills to Sakura. 

"The same for the other soldiers. I hope all your energy isn't sucked up before the war."She chuckled. 

"Yeah...we could only wish luck is on our side." She took the pills and put into her pocket.  
"By the way, where is the potty-mouthed blonde? With long hair and blue eyes?" 

"You mean Ino? She was out for papers. Oh! There she is." She said looking at the entrance.  
Sakura turned around and greeted her friend with eyes. 

"Fore-," Ino shut her mouth before the rest of the word came out. Then she faked a forced smile, "What are you doing here Satoru....kun?" 

"Just for some medication. The sweet beautiful girl here had helped me out with that, miss Yamanaka." She answered glancing at her over-worried friend and displaying her cool confident posture. 

"Oh...Do you guys know each other?" The girl with buns asked honestly. 

"Not really. She used to heal me on my first day here." She shrugged. 

"I see." The brunette turned to dumb-looking blonde and smiled, "I came to get some ginger powder. And I found it. Gotta go back now."

The blonde nodded and made a way for the brunette to get out. After she left, Ino blew out a heavy sigh.   
"Forehead, I almost got caught." 

"Not my fault pig. It's your mouth's." 

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Anyway, is your business still here?" 

"Of course. Can you please clean my wounds and give me antibiotics?" She asked sarcastically. 

"Sit here." She snorted and pointed a chair grabbing a first aid kit. She started to clean a few scratches on her arm. 

"I don't even know anymore if this is training or torturing. They dragged us from our homes and tormenting us like animals." She wrinkled our nose and bit her lips to fight down a scream as the alcohol touched her bruised skin.

"This is the path you chose. You shouldn't be giving up before the war." 

"Like hell. I would give up. Not until I kicked those rain bastards' asses. But shit happens when the commander is near. He is such a pain in the ass, you know and also weird. I can't understand him at all." She complained.

"Yes, about him, I have to warn you to stay alert near him. The commander isn't just an ordinary guy. The only son of the trusted general of our emperor. I heard their family bloodline is very intelligent and smart. It'd be the last thing you do if you tried to fool them." 

Sakura's eyebrows were lifted and her lips parted an inch.  
"Are you serious?"

Ino frowned and replied, "Do I look like joking? I'm telling this because I'm worried about you. He's a very dangerous man to mess up with. He became the highest ranked shinobi at the age of 11 and was a captain of elite squad. I heard he's very brutal at punishing and investigating criminals. You understand that right? You're basically a criminal right now." She lowered her voice at the last sentence. 

"I know I know. But how do you know all about this?"

"I told you my father works in the arms. They often worked together in CID. You know, our mind transfer jutsu is quite useful in that field. Do you want me to heal them all completely?" She said after wrapping bandage around the arm.

"No. No. I'll heal them myself not to leave any scars." She put down her sleeve covering the bandaged arm and stood up. 

"Ok then. Hey! Are you leaving?" 

"Yes , I haven't returned to my tent after bath. I shouldn't stay longer outside." She walked to the entrance.  
"Bye. Thanks pig."   
Then she left the blonde and infirmary without waiting for the response and walked back to her tent.   
"It'd be the last thing you do if you tried to fool them..." She recalled her friend's words and lost in her thoughts deeply. Was that commander really a smart-ass? Had he already found out her secret? If so, why was he still keeping her in the army? To play her? For entertainment? Did he enjoy watching her struggle among the men? Whatever the reason is, she's doomed anyway. Until he doesn't open his mouth, she wouldn't reveal her true identity either. She'd be sticking like a chewing gum in the army till the war ends.   
As she walked zoning out, she didn't notice a woman yelling at her direction. But the woman's voice was too blaring to stay unnoticed longer. Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts and turned to look.

"Hey....you..you... I'm calling you."   
A red-headed woman called pointing a finger at her. Her long red spiky hair seemed unusual and on her face was small red glasses. She dressed in sumptuous clothes like someone from a rich family. 

"Me?" She stopped and asked the red-headed woman. 

"You're the only one walking here. Who else?" She replied in annoyed expression. "Here. Carry my bags and follow me." 

"Why would I?" Sakura asked confusedly. 

The red head rolled her eyes.  
"Don't you know who I am? I'm one of the royal family. Don't try to disobey my order." 

"Hmm?" She made a thin voice. "Uzumaki??" She surely had heard the name before. "Oh..yeah...the shrimp..She must be his relative or something." But from whatever family, she had no business with them, right?  
"I can't. I'm a soldier here. Not your servant." 

The woman's eyes flashed with anger and put her hands on her waist.   
"How dare you..." she hissed and adjusted her glasses. Sakura couldn't care less if the red head wanted to make a bigger mess but if she was involved, she'd be the only one who gets in trouble in the end. So, she stopped their staring contest and turned to leave. 

"Who told you can leave?" She said grabbing her shoulder strongly. 

"So what are you gonna do? I'm not carrying your damn bags. Ask someone else." She retorted impatiently.   
The red head was like a hot chili and when she was about to raise her hand, another voice appeared.

"Karin-san!"   
It was a soft timid voice of a female. Sakura looked at the voice owner curiously. A young beautiful girl with pale pearl eyes and long dark blue hair ran in to stop their stormy situation.   
"I'm sorry you have to wait long." She panted.

"Oi...Hinata..Where were you going? You just disappeared and left me alone here." The red head complained, forgetting the pink-haired soldier for a moment. 

"I was seeing my cousin. He said he will make things comfortable with us while we are here and till we reach the Kuriyama town safely." She said very softly, looking like a shy girl, Sakura noted. 

"Aw...that arrogant man...I see."   
Sakura wrinkled her nose and tried hard not to spit rudely. That woman was judging other like she wasn't arrogant at all. 

"Hinata...I told this guy over here to carry my bags. But he was so impertinent. I think we should talk with their superior." She said glaring at Sakura. 

"Ahh...Don't bother about it Karin-san. I asked Neji-niisan for help. Leave this guy alone."

Sakura relieved and thanked Kami, also thanked the sweet cute girl who just defended her. She seemed so nice, like an angel.   
Sakura then left the two women ignoring mumblings and deadly glares of the red head and continued her way to tent. Why was she always fated to get involved in mess with Uzumakis? 

When she got to the tent, the boys just came back from bathing and were all half-naked. As a doctor, she had even seen numbers of fully-naked bodies. But those boys in her tent were around at her age and possessed fine bodies in their own ways. Not very muscular but lean and devoid of fat except Choji. She blushed looking at them and drifted her eyes to somewhere else, not letting them to roam on boys' bodies. If she get caught, they'll probably think she's gay or something homosexual and this will lead to many pain-in the-ass problems. So, she fought down her blush and thought about drunk Tsunade vomiting at her clinic. 

"Naruto, I saw your cousin and the Hyuga girl earlier. Why are they here?" The guy with dog fangs asked putting on brown robes. 

"Aww....They are studying at a town near this place. As the war is declared, they have to go back to royal city." The blonde replied 

"So, they are coming with us? Cool! Traveling with beautiful girls seems exciting." He grinned. 

"Dude, we're not going to the royal city. We are just responsible to protect them till they reach Kuriyama. There's troops waiting for them to escort." Naruto continued, looking for his instant ramen noodles bowls. 

"I see. Well...it's not like we have a chance anyway. Both girls have their own crushes," Kiba scoffed looking meaningfully at Naruto and Sasuke.  
The other boys instantly got what he meant and they chuckled. The blonde grinned scratching the back of his neck and the Uchiha snorted in annoyance. 

"What Sasuke? Don't tell me you don't know that red-headed Uzumaki is obsessed with you." Kiba laughed. 

"Not my business." The Uchiha kept looking away. Sakura wondered if he ever smiled once. Why is he always keeping that serious face? But he seemed attached to Naruto though. Maybe, Naruto knows everything about him and they grew up so close. He was acting like a lonely child or someone with many unpleasant things on their mind. She wanted to be a friend of him, in fact, she wanted to be friend with all of them! 

"Do you know who are they? I met them too. The red haired one is so arrogant," she huffed. 

"That's Uzumaki Karin, cousin of Naruto. She's one scary girl." Kiba said. "But that scary girl turned into a gentle sweet girl in front of the Uchiha here. Damn you lucky man." 

"If you like her, take her with you. I'll be thankful." Sasuke grumbled. 

"She'll kill me, of course. I'm not the one she wants. And I don't love her either," Kiba shook his head negatively, "and yeah, the next timid one is Hyuga Hinata. You can say heiress of Hyuga clan or maybe Naruto's fiancé-to-be?" 

The blonde blushed and scratched his head again.  
"We're not in that stage yet." He said smiling.

"Because you are dumb. Everyone knows she's madly in love with you. And Satoru, you'll know too when you see them together, I bet." He said sitting down on his bed.   
Naruto just kept grinning ear to ear and poured hot water into his ramen bowl. 

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. That nice beautiful girl was in love with that annoying shrimp? It's like a joke to her. It's even hard to believe that there's someone who falls in love with him. That girl must be blind, she thought.   
That night, the soldiers talked about girls, their childhood stories and formed friendship between them while the pineapple head was already in dreamland. 

===============================

* Next Morning *

"Soldiers, today is your last day of training. The journey for the war shall begin two days later. You will have a full day of rest tomorrow." The man with senbon in his mouth declared.   
"Like I said this is the last day, your last training will be a test." 

The exclamation sounds and whisperings of soldiers came out loud and was then silenced by their superior's next words. 

"It was meant to test your teamwork, fighting skills and how well you can use your brain in a battlefield." The shinobi took out a scroll from his pouch and opened the seal.   
"So, I've got the list here. You all will be divided into three men groups. If your name is called, step forward." 

The man started to call names three after three and teams were named one, two, three and go on.   
"Team 7...Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Satoru." Sakura couldn't believe she was placed in the same team with the blonde. It's so troublesome and made feel sick. But the Uchiha was also on their team, meaning he could be of a lot of help during the test. Having someone like him in the team would be her luck. So she decided to go against the idea of complaining and shut her mouth.   
Naruto looked at her with a face like he had just bitten a big half of lime. She snorted and stood beside Sasuke to keep a distance between her and the blonde. Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba were in the same team as well. It seemed they were simply sorted by the same living tent. Once the groups were made, the shinobi continued,

"Your mission is to find the hidden scrolls in the forest. Only one scroll for one team. You will pass the test once you find the scrolls and give them to us before sunset. There were many traps set up in the forest and some Anbu soldiers were guarding the scrolls in vicinity. You must defeat them to get the scrolls. So, it won't be easy. And remember that the time is limited, only the teams that arrived before sunset will pass. Do you have any question?" 

"What if we failed this test?" A guy asked. Sakura was curious about this question too. 

"Well, if you don't pass, you'll go home. You're not going with us to battlefield. Failing the test means you're not qualified to be a soldier, to fight for your country. Having you in the army will make us delay in the war. We don't want your deaths to be worthless. So we're letting you go home if you fail. Go back to your family and protect them even if you can't protect your country. Anything else?" 

The soldiers fell silence. Who wants to go to the battle while they can stay together with their family? But this was for their country's sake, if they were cowards, the kingdom would fall under the rain bastards. They must show the courage and dignity of Konoha soldiers even if it means sacrificing their lives. Sakura was also one of them who decided to pass the test no matter what. 

*  
*  
*

The pink, the black and the yellow entered the forest as a team and their search for the hidden scroll began. Every group set off to different directions and there's a little chance to run into each other as the huge size of the forest. Hills, lakes, ponds, caves and even little waterfalls were in there. Obviously, no chance of winning so easily. Not easy, but not impossible. 

"It's past noon and we have found only traps. The freaking goddamned traps. I'm starving, dattebayo."  
Naruto muttered kicking the stones on the ground discontentedly. 

"Because you are noob. The traps are so obvious. But you still got yourself in. Only fools do that." Sasuke grumbled. 

"Teme, I know they are traps. I was just looking if there were any scrolls hidden near them. Don't blame when you're just walking." 

"Shrimp, don't you understand you're making us out of time? Saving you from traps takes time. Now it's past noon and we've got no clue." Sakura said annoyingly. Actually, she was almost hopeless. The forest was so big. How could they find tiny scrolls hidden somewhere? Katsuyu was asleep in her pocket. What a reliable guardian, she thought. 

"Shut up!!! Bastard! I will find those scrolls, 'ttebayo. There's no way I'll be going home. Watch it." He claimed and left ahead. Sasuke was scanning the surrounding with his sharingan but didn't see anything special. Sakura, however, felt encouraged hearing the blonde. He might be annoying but always worked his ass out to prove his words. She had never seen a guy like him before, he was stupid but still-beat-your-shit type. Sighing her frustrations out, she searched for the scrolls. She wouldn't be goi home either. 

"Hey, guys. Come here. I found a cave!!" 

She heard the blonde scream and saw him waving them. The two ran to their friend to see the cave. There could be a chance a scroll might be hidden in the cave. They found it! The cave wasn't small but quite a large one. Trees were surrounded it and the entrance was covered by vines, not easy to find it if they weren't paying attention. 

"I was here to pee and then found it. This is so amazing of me. I'm sure the scroll must be in here, ttebayo. Let's get inside." 

Sakura and the Uchiha nodded and the team went inside the cave excitedly. It was so dark inside and Sasuke used a jutsu that glowed light from his hand. They walked down carefully. The tunnel seemed to have a long way and it got broader and broader as they kept going. Suddenly the blonde stopped and shouted cheerfully making others with him to stop in their steps. 

"Found it!" 

Sakura looked up and found a scroll attached to the roof of the cave. She smiled widely, "Yeah! Let's get it."   
Suddenly the unexpected thing happened, they were surrounded by five black cloaked figures preventing them to take the scroll. The team stepped back until their backs were touching each other. 

"Anbus?" Naruto whispered. 

"Seems so. When did they wear black robes like these? And where are the masks?" Sasuke said. The men were not wearing any anbu mask but they couldn't see their faces either. The cloaks they were wearing covered the half of their faces. 

"Maybe new uniforms exclusively made for this test. I think they want to scare us. Hahah....But these robes only made them ugly," Naruto snickered and Sakura glared at him. It's obviously not the time he should be criticizing their costumes but she also couldn't deny the fact that they looked ridiculous. 

The cloaked men started to move and a fight began between them. At first Sakura thought they were just here to test their skills and prevent the scroll from being taken. But as they fought, she happened to notice they didn't care about protecting the scroll and besides they were trying to hurt them, with weapons and jutsus, like they were trying to kill them in the cave. She became suspicious but another thought came in that this might be just a vigorous training as the last. She turned to look her teammates, they were also fighting against the men fiercely. She continued to focus on her opponent. 

Minutes later, two down, three left. The team got their backs on each other again,  
"Something's not right." Sakura panted. 

"Are they trying to kill us?" Naruto whimpered pressing his arm with other hand. Sakura noticed his arm skin near the wound was turning purple and her eyebrows rose. 

"Naruto you got poisoned!" Even before she finished, the blonde fell to the ground and she crouched to catch him.  
"Do they really need to use poisoned kunais? This isn't just a test?"

"They are not Anbus. They are enemies." Sasuke clenched his fists. Red eyes spinning dangerously in the dark. 

Her eyes widened and she felt herself shivered. Her suspicions were right all along. Now their mission wasn't to take the scroll but to stay alive and kill them. Naruto was starting to have effects of the poison and Sakura realized she must heal him as soon as possible. Suddenly a paper bomb flied to their direction and Sakura dragged the squirming boy with her to safer place. Sasuke was in their opposite direction and when the bomb exploded, the stones of the cave fell around and blocked the way, separating like a wall between them. 

"Sasuke!!!" Sakura screamed. The enemies were still there and they got separated. Naruto was lying with his head on her lap, the poison was starting to spread. 

"I'm fine Satoru. Take care of Naruto. Don't let him die." She heard him said from the other side. And when she was about to heal the blonde, another voice appeared. 

"Tsk Tsk. Poor souls." A tall man in black cloak was coming toward them calmly. 

"W-Who are you? Why are trying to kill us?" She asked loudly ignoring her shaking body. Her teammate was going to die and an unknown strong enemy was in front of her. 

"Don't ask too many questions when you're about to die." He chuckled. "My friends will take care of the Uchiha. You're mine." 

Sakura swore she saw the flash of yellow eyes under the cloak. He was very strong enemy who used earth style justsu skillfully. He also used other elements and his taijutsu was incredible, even on par with their commander and trainers. There's no way she could defeat him alone and she also couldn't let the blonde die in her hands by any means. He was annoying but this didn't mean she wanted him to be dead. Gripping a kunai, her jade eyes lifted and she swallowed thickly as she finally made a decision. 

===========================TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post my ongoing story from Wattpad on here too. I’ll try to update as regularly as I can. I promise 😸😸
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this story guys 💕✨✨


	7. Comrades to Besties

There is only one way. She must run away, she must get out of the cave and go as far as she can. This is the only way both she and Naruto would survive. She threw a kunai toward the grinning man, attached to it was a smoke bomb. The man caught the kunai with his hand and in seconds, the bomb exploded filling every space with white thick smoke. Sakura took the chance and carried the unconscious Naruto on her shoulder. Gathering her chakra in her fist, she punched the wall to make a hole way out. The stone surface was crushed by such powerful force resulting a giant hole and Sakura ran outside without wasting a second. She was also worried about Sasuke. He must be dealing with two enemies but for now, she must run. The yellow-eyed man would certainly follow her. She must find a place to make sure he couldn't find them and to heal the blonde. 

"Katsuyu-sama, Katsuyu-sama..., Can you hear me?" She panted jumping from a branch to another, balancing her weight and the blonde's on her shoulder not to fall over. 

"I'm here, Sakura-chan. What's happening? Who are those guys?" Katsuyu answered witha a small voice. 

"I don't know. But what I know is they're here to kill us. One bastard is following after us right now and I've got a dying comrade on my shoulder. He was poisoned, we don't have much time. So, Katsuyu-sama, can you stop the poison spreading through his body while I find a safe spot?" 

The slug nodded, "I'll try." She moved from Sakura's collar to the boy's effected area. She studied the cut and released a shimmy goo-like substance from her body to cover it. 

"How is it?" 

"I think it works. The poison is very common. Easy to make antidote. You'll just need garlic." 

"Oh...great. Where can I find garlic in this forest? I don't have time to search around with him on my back. Any alternatives?" She could feel him stop shaking and his breaths became steadier indicating the poison had stopped spreading. She sighed lightly, she'd just have to act fast before his organs dissolved and took his life. It'd be such a pain if she let a royalty die in her hands. And as a doctor, she couldn't have a patient died easily that has a lot of chances to survive. But above all, he was her pain in the ass comrade who had a battle to fight together. A soldier shall not die until he has given meaning to his life, that's what her father said. 

"Basil leaves could help him." 

"Ughh...Where can I find those leaves?" She rolled her eyes as she tried to find her wits. A cluster of shrubs caught her attention from the corner of her eye followed by a pungent smell entering her nose. She stopped running and looked down at the plants below her.   
"Wait..Wait...Basil? Then he should be fine with mints, right? They are generally the same." 

"Umm...True. They may have the same effect. I can't tell exactly though." 

"Okay. I'll just take them. We need to find a place very soon." She plucked the leaves, kept them in her pouch and went back to her track. Never in her life had she been in hurry that much. She always found calmness while healing someone but now, both of their lives were depending on her.   
She skipped the caves and gorges which seemed the best places to hide. That guy was not stupid by no means. She must choose a place where he wouldn't put in the list or leave it to last. But with Naruto on her shoulder, she finally chose a spot beside a big lake surrounded by large trees. After making sure her spot was hidden in all directions, she began to heal the blonde. First, cleaned his wound with water, extract the poison drops by drops with her chakra, crushed the mint leaves and let its juices flow into his wound, also a few drops to his mouth making him drink. Then she closed the wound with her warm healing chakra, piled the crushed leaves on it as the last step. His purple skin had gradually turned back to its natural color but there was no sign of moving. 

"He hasn't regained his consciousness yet. What do we do Katsuyu-sama?" She asked tiredly. She was glad the blonde had passed life-threatening point and she was the one to save him. He would live till his fate allowed, but not here or not now. The problem was she just couldn't sit and wait till he woke up. If he remained unconscious till the man arrived, she couldn't carry him and run again. It's not like she would escape from him the second time either. 

"I'll try to enhance the healing effect and restore his chakra." The slug said and climbed down to the ground.   
"Sakura-chan, let me restore your chakra as well. I can feel you are exhausted." She nodded and leaned back to a tree. The slug's body parted into new four slugs which were the same in size. Three went to the boy's arm and the last one on Sakura's shoulder, performing chakra restoration. She closed her eyes and sighed in content. Then, she glanced at the motionless blonde. Starring at him for a second, she made a decision. When the cloaked man arrived, she wouldn't run. She would fight him, fight and fight till he dies or she dies. How could she survive the rigorous war if she couldn't even defeat a single enemy? She had to get stronger. It's possible that she might die here or in the battlefield. Humans were born to die after all. Like hell she'd be afraid by death. But her promise to Tsunade and her own will of fire wouldn't let her fall easily. That's what kept her standing in all difficult times at training days. This coming fight would be a test for her own abilities.

Her thoughts were cut off by the blonde shifting slightly and making small noises. She grinned and knelt beside him to check his body. Everything's fine, he had woken up!   
Naruto slowly opened his heavy eyelids and was welcomed by unusual pink head. As his visions got clearer, he frowned and looked at the pinkette confusedly. 

"A girl?" He mumbled vaguely. Sakura who happened to heard his voice cleared her throat and fixed her hair neatly into a bun. 

"Ahum...thank goodness you woke up. How are you feeling?" 

"Wanna throw up."

She pursed her lips and hit him on the chest.   
"That's because you ate a lot of ramen yesterday. You seemed all fine then." 

"But my arm feels..." He looked at the wound and was shocked seeing three white slugs sitting on it.   
"Ahh!!!......What the hell?! Slugs?!?!" He screamed lifting his head off the ground. 

"Stay still! She's trying to help you. Katsuyu-sama, I think it's enough now. But he still need chakra, can you help him?" She asked, hands glowing green light inspecting his whole body. 

"Of course" 

"Wait...Are you a doctor?" He asked with a startled look. 

"That's obvious right now. I just saved your poisoned ass." 

"You never told us?" 

"You never asked. Stop shouting. The enemy will be here anytime. You're letting him know our spot." He fell silent and she glared at him continuing her work. The three slugs combined to one and she slowly climbed to his shoulder. 

Flinching uncomfortably, he grumbled, "Gross."

"How impertinent." The slug said irritated. 

"Oi Oi...You are hurting her feelings shrimp. Just let her heal you." 

"The talking slug? So, she's your summoned animal." 

"Right." She nodded and took back her hands as Katsuyu started her job on his shoulder. 

"Well...Thank you Satoru, I guess." He scratched his ear and looked away. Sakura knew he was really grateful and she smiled proudly to appreciate his way of thanking. 

"Seems you are having a lovely chat here. Can I join too?" 

Another voice appeared out of nowhere and a black figure jumped in front of them. Sakura went tense and she clenched her fists looking at the man she was expecting to see. Naruto sat up gripping his wounded arm. 

"You followed us?" He frowned. 

"Boys we have to finish what we started. My mission is not over until I kill both of you." He licked his lips and drew out a kunai. Then, looked at the blonde up and down.   
"Alive and well? I see...you've got a medic friend." He paused for a second shifting his gaze between the two. "With summoned animal. That's cute." He smiled putting the kunai back to its place. 

Sakura swallowed the little fears that popped up in her chest and spoke, "This time I won't run. You have to confront me at my strongest."   
Naruto nodded in agreement, "I promise Satoru, I won't fail again. I will kick this guy's butt dattebayo!"They were starring at the cloaked man with flaming eyes. 

"Then, say hi to my pet." He made hand signs quickly and his palm touched the forest floor. The summoning jutsu had been done and in the blink of an eye, giant white smokes appeared with a huge bird underneath. 

"Eh? He summoned a giant chicken!" Naruto shouted.   
"That's obviously not chicken idiot." Sakura scolded and while they were arguing, the bird flied to the sky, rotating above them. 

The two soldiers had a difficulty in the fight with the bird as it spat both fire and ice. It attacked from the sky and easily dodged their attempts to land a hit on it. The trees in the area were destroyed by Sakura's inhuman force and the bird's attacks. Naruto with his shadow clones were trying to strike it but the enemy in the sky always had an advantage over them.   
Naruto grew frustrated with the bird and ordered his clones to throw kunais toward it. The bird avoided the weapons but unfortunately for it and fortunately for them, a kunai cut through its right wing and with loud groans, the bird fell to the ground. The blonde welcomed the fallen bird with his punches till it poofed away. 

"Your bird is a coward," he smiled. 

"Now come attack us yourself," Sakura spat. Katsuyu was still on her shoulder and Naruto's, supporting them not to run out of chakra. She noticed her body was too exhausted and already bruised a lot to fight another fierce battle but it's not like she had a choice anyway. To her suprise, Naruto still seemed so energetic and even with his multi shadow clones, he didn't look tired at all, as loud as ever. She wondered just how much chakra did he possess, it was something mysterious about him. 

"As you wish," he grinned and removed his cloak revealing his face completely. He was a handsome man with beautiful red hair and bright yellow eyes. But they seemed so wicked and evilish, Sakura remembered the eyes of a cobra as she starred at them.

Their battle began and neither of them were holding back. Watching them fight his bird, the man decided not to underestimate them and focused more carefully on his moves. As he was an earth element user, he was very good at using barriers which was so frustrating for the two comrades. Sakura knew they can easily beat him with lightning but none of them had that element's chakra or could use it. They only had to rely on their strengths.  
Minutes passed and Sakura found herself she couldn't even land a hit on him. All her punches were avoided and some hit the ground making it crashed. Naruto was still fighting with his clones to the man and they made a perfect match. Sakura was amazed to see that the blonde was not just a stupid boy but a highly skilled shinobi. She had never thought of him to be one, she always saw him as an arrogant but foolish royalty with nothing to be impressed. Now he was proving her thoughts were wrong. 

"Rasengan!" A chakra ball formed on the blonde's palm and with this powerful thing, he went through all the barriers and finally hit the man's chest. He flew away to a distance and fell to the ground, barely breathing. Naruto turned to face her and grinned wiping the blood from his mouth. 

"See, Satoru? I get my promise." 

"Yeah, Yeah. You really are a savage bastard." She beamed at him tapping his shoulder and peered the man. Her smiled faded as she met his gaze. His eyes were saying he wasn't a loser and they weren't winners either. She walked to him who was leaning against a tree and Naruto followed her. 

"I will ask again. Who are you guys and why are you trying to kill us?" The blonde asked, hands folded on his chest.   
He didn't answer, starring at both of them with lifeless eyes. 

Naruto continued, "Are there any more of you or just five?" 

"Why am I obliged to say?" 

"Because we have defeated you. If you say, I will spare your life."

"My mission is to kill you even if I die," he smirked. 

"What do you mean?" Sakura frowned. 

"Bad luck for you since you're in the same team with him." He chuckled and his hands slowly moved to the hem of his shirt. Then, swiftly removed it from his body, showing his tattooed pale skin. Sakura gaped at the tattoo, it certainly didn't look like a normal one, more likely a sign to perform a spell. What's more strange was that they could clearly see his chakra from the whole body were concentrating at the center of the circle. The longer she stared, the more certain she was. It was a human bomb!

"What is it, bastard?" Naruto gasped. 

"Run...Naruto!!! He's trying to explode himself!" Sakura screamed her ass out and dragged his arm.  
"We must get out of here." 

"What?!"

The man laughed, "It's too late. This bomb is made to eliminate every soul in 100 meters. You won't get away." 

Sakura was already running when she heard him say. Naruto was beside her running and swearing the man. The white light came out from the man's body and it grew brighter and brighter...

"Fuck, we won't make it."

===============================

Shikamaru and Choji were wandering in the forest, looking for the two lost soldiers. Their another teammate, Kiba wasn't with them as he was seriously injured from the last fight with the strangers and Sasuke took him back to the camp. He requested them to look for his teammates since he also needed to go back to the camp as soon as possible.

"Do you think Kiba will be fine?" Choji asked sadly.

"Yes, I'm sure he'll be fine. So, quit looking down Choji. It's not your fault." He replied. Choji thought Kiba was hurt because of his mistake and it made him felt guilty. He understood his friend's feelings very well, that guy was such a kind soul.   
"We are in the forest. The enemies can be still here. Stay alert." 

"Our enemies must be from the sound village."

"According to their techniques, yes, they're definitely the sound ninjas. But there could be other enemies too. We have to be careful."

Suddenly, the ground shook and the deafening sound of explosion emerged terrifyingly. They both proned behind a stone gripping the grases. 

"W-What kind of explosion is that?" Choji murmured gritting his teeth and eyes closed tightly. 

The explosion went only for a minute and after that, everything around them fell silent except the sound of some trees burning. Shikamaru stood up wiped off dust from his burnt clothes. He was thankful that his skin wasn't burnt terribly. They were lucky that the explosion occurred quite far away from them, or else they'd be dead. 

"This is odd. Shikamaru, do you think Naruto and Satoru...." he couldn't finish his sentence as a load of worries filled his heart. 

"Let's go there." The two ran off to where the explosion originated with heavy feelings in their chest. 

The place was severely devastated and everything looked unpleasant. Trees were burnt, the ground was crushed and the lake's surface was messy with floating things. Shikamaru picked up a frog-shaped green purse which was burnt and torn by fire. 

"T-That was Naruto's..."   
Shikamaru nodded and sighed heavily. He was hoping not to be true but the evidence was in his hands, his friend was here when the explosion started. This means his teammate, Satoru as well....

"Can you sense their chakra?" 

He shook his head. He wasn't even a sensory ninja, tracking someone with senses wasn't his area of expertise. He couldn't sense anyone's chakra but Choji's right now.   
They decided to search the area for other clues and their bodies but they couldn't find anything related. It was like those two just vanished without any traces. After several minutes, they gave up. 

"Let's go back to the camp. Others will worry about us." 

"How do we tell the commander?"

"The truth." They looked each other sadly and after gazing the place for one last time, the Nara and Akimichi left. 

*  
*  
*

Kakashi stood outside the tent as he waited for his soldiers to come back. An hour later after the test started, they had received an information that unknown attackers ambushed their anbus and killed soldiers. Many jounins and chunins went into the forest and saved soldiers but still there were a few left, especially his blonde student and the pink-haired trouble maker. The attackers they had captured happened to be the sound ninjas and rouge ninjas from other countries. It was clear that the sound village finally cooperated with the Rain country and tried to eliminate Konoha's soldiers before the war begins. That was such a dirty move by no one other than Hanzo.

He saw two figures coming into the camp and found Shikamaru and Choji walking heavily with sad eyes. He was told that those two went to find Naruto and Satoru but when his eyes met the Nara boy's, no words were needed to speak out loud. He realized the answer.   
Shikamaru came nearer and handed him Naruto's burnt frog purse which he always used to keep his money. Kakashi took the little thing gently, his face was calm, his body was calm but not his mind. It was too hard to believe. 

"What happened?" 

"Explosion." The Nara answered, looking at the ground. "We couldn't even find their bodies." 

Kakashi fell silent, he heard a bomb exploded in the forest loudly and very intensely. Never thought his students would be victims of those explosion. A corner of his heart was telling him they could be still alive but he's got no evidence to prove. If that was true, how could he face his sensei again? And that pink-haired girl, he couldn't let her die. He hadn't even told her their memories a long time ago. Plus, he could see a strong woman inside her, a very special and different from others, which was the reason he didn't send her back home in the first place, although it wasn't the only reason. She wasn't someone who would die easily or pathetically. He believed in her.   
After staying silent for minutes, he said, "We will find them. Dead or alive I don't care. I need to see them with my own eyes." 

He walked away to give a mission of finding the lost two to anbus and other jounins. But that procedure was interrupted before even started as a voice they thought they could never be heard again came out proudly. 

"Sorry, we're late. We were getting the scroll on the way."

"Hope we won't be sent back to home."   
The owners of the voices were, of course, Naruto and Sakura who were expected to be dead. They came back alive miraculously. They were holding each other and their faces were smirking like a big winner although both were covered in dirt, blood and mud in their drenched clothes. 

A relieved smile formed on thin lips under the fabric mask. 

==============================TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have hints for next chapter 😉 In that part, the war will finally begin plus kakasaku moments ❤️
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me guys, stay safe all! 💖 And sorry for late update. I was kinda busy or you can say lazy. Hehe xD


	8. Fated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Sorry for the long wait. I was giving myself a break. Christmas and new year, I was so distracted. Here, I have fixed some things. Added new ideas. Cut off things I don’t like.  
> Well, I’m really sorry for taking so long. TwT

_"Oi....Kizashi. Long time no see, mate."_

_A crouching man dropped trowel and turned his head as his name was called by a familiar voice. He rose to his feet, startled. "Sakumo-sama...How are you here?"_

_The silver haired man folded his arms feigning annoyance. "Tsk...You haven't changed a bit. How many times do I have to tell you not to add honorifics behind my name?"_

_The man with dark pink hair in dumbfounded state recovered quickly and smiled genuinely rubbing the back of his head. "I was surprised. Sorry Sakumo-san."_

_The General dropped his hands and returned the smile. "How many years? Four? Five? Since the war was over." He glanced a boy beside him who was standing silently and continued, "We've got some business near this village. I recalled you mentioned your village name and decided to check in as we passed by."_

_"Oh...I see. Er....Um..So this handsome fellow is your....." he deciphered, peering at the masked boy who had the same hair color as the General._

_"My son, Kakashi." He lightly touched the boy's shoulder, "Kakashi, greet him. This man is Mr.Haruno, my loyal trustworthy right-arm man I was always talking about."  
_

_The boy looked at his father, then the man standing before him and bowed. "Nice to meet you Mr. Haruno."_

_The Haruno nodded and grinned observing the boy up and down, "He looks exactly like you, Sakumo-san. And....already in Anbu? How old is he?"_

_"He'll be sixteen in a few weeks. He passed the Anbu entrance exam a year ago." The silver haired man said amusedly, exactly sounded like a father who was proud of his son._

_"You have such an outstanding son. I don't expect anything less from a father like you. Now how about-"_

_"Papa...Papa...I got water for our flowers." A small voice interrupted their conversation and all men turned their heads to see a girl running into their direction with a cup of water in her hands, beaming at her father radiantly like it was the happiest day in her life. The short roseate hair was lighter and brighter than her dad's, tied with a harmonious red ribbon. Two large irises of jade which seemed vivid enough for everything around them to go fade away. In fact, she was like an earliest flower in spring that bloomed with full of fresh aroma, a sign for the rebirth of a new season, to bring warmth and tranquility to the earth._

_Just in the moment of them watching her, she tripped over a rock and hit the ground with face, spilling every water in her cup on the cool-looking boy who was spacing out watching her. Only when he felt the wetness on his clothes, he was brought back to life and took his eyes off her. Kizashi ran to the girl to hold her up and check if she was hurt badly. She whined in pain rubbing her forehead which had only a small scratch._

_The man turned to the two silent men smiling awkwardly, "I'm sorry eh.... Kakashi-san. Are you okay?"_

_He nodded and said it's fine, curiously looked at the whining girl again who was completely oblivious of his existence. Her father patted her back and held her up, "My six years old is so clumsy. Sakura, apologize the guests." She made a surprised expression and subsequently turned her head to his direction. For a slight amount of time, their eyes locked in each other and his breaths stopped without him noticing. Is it the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his life? "I'm really sorry onii-chan. I didn't mean to." She clutched her fists against her chest, starring at him with round puppy eyes. Kakashi just remembered to breathe and lips curled upwards although he knew it wasn't visible to her with the mask covering his mouth. "It's ok. Be careful next time." He said closing his eyes as a gesture of him smiling._

_"Kizashi, what a lucky man. You have such a beautiful daughter. I'm jealous."_

_The pink-haired man laughed softly rubbing his head like someone who doesn't know how to take compliments. The General came closer to get a good look at the girl and lightly touched her head with his palm, bending his knees to be eye-level with her. "Bright and intent eyes, sharp-minded, an image of bravery, possess fiery will. She will grow up to a wonderfully impressive woman."_

_Her eyes flashed with excitement and joy but it turned into a pout as her father chuckled and said, "I doubt that." Kakashi couldn't help but grinned at her change of expression. He never liked kids, as an only child of the Hatake family having no sibilings , he was quite far away from the trance of getting along with them. But with that cute thing in front of him, he even forgot the fact that he didn't like kids. Even her smile warmed his unshakeable cold heart. He realized his disfavor of children would have never existed if all of them were as cute as her. Very gently but strongly, she had stolen a place in the deepest part of his heart. He didn't notice it at this time, or maybe did he just ignore?_

_"Sakumo-sama....eh.....san, let me make you some tea, please come this way," Three of them walked inside the house but Kakashi glanced at the girl as she didn't come along. She was busy with flowers which her father was gardening earlier. He made a mental note to have a talk with her before they left._

_About an hour later, Kakashi excused himself from the men's chat and went outside. The pink haired girl wasn't near the plants anymore, instead she was seen trying to take something back which seemed stuck on a tree branch, jumping on her toes and stretching out her hand, clearly her small height wasn't enough to reach the branch. He went straight to her with hands in pants' pockets. She was desperately trying so hard to take a kite back! He grabbed the kite easily, his larger frame hovering over her smaller one. Crouching down and wearing a soft expression on his face, he handed the little red kite to its surprised-looking owner._

_"Thank you a lot, onii-chan." She smiled. Unintentionally, his hand came to ruffle her hair. She looked so cheerful and free, like a bird which doesn't have to worry about where it's flying and innocent, pure white without being stained by other colors. "It's okay....Sakura...chan, right?" It wouldn't be exaggeration if he said that name suited her perfectly well. She even looked like a Sakura flower, herself._

_She nodded, "I was flying my kite. But it was caught in the tree when the wind blew." Pouting, she examined her toy carefully and sighed. "Thank god. It wasn't torn off. Papa won't give me another one if I destroy it."_

_"Are you playing alone?" He inquired as no kid was seen around her. "My friend Ino-pig went to the town with her father. So I was left alone." She groused, looking at her feet. Then her face got bright and she looked at him expectantly. "Say Say, onii-chan. Do you like to play with me? Please?" How could he say no to those eyes? Her soft tiny hand grasped his half-gloved fingers and dragged him toward a field where they'd be playing together._

_When they reached a decent spot, she held the edge of the thread while he stood somewhere the length of the thread ends. By the time the wind came, he raised the kite just in time and let it soar to its full extent. She yelled in excitement following the direction where the kite flew. He tagged along beside her watching and guarding in case something had happened or she hurt herself. His Dad obviously wasn't done talking with his long-lost friend and normally, he would be bored to death but now he was wishing his father would stay longer so he could spend time with this pinkette a little longer._

_They played together for several minutes, each holding the thread in turn. She seemed elated, giggling and eyes twinkling. They became friends although it'd been only a few hours they had met. Once, he was flying the kite and she was following behind him, constantly gazing at the sky in awe. He climbed a mound of rocks to fly it higher and shortly forgot about the girl behind him._

_When he was aware, she was already on her halfway to get to the top. "Hey, hey. Don't come." He shouted worriedly. But not even before his sentence ends, she slipped and fell to the ground. The kite was forgotten and he quickly jumped down._

_"It hurts...My leg..." "Let me see." He gently held her feet up and caressed the swelling spot on her porcelain skin._

_"Your ankle is dislocated now. You're pretty sloppy, aren't you?"_

_"But this isn't my fault. It just happened. And you didn't even wait for me." She chirped, frowning at him and rubbing her ankle._

_He was somehow amazed she didn't shed a tear after falling from the height and clearly having a terrible pain. What a tough girl... After smirking to himself, he turned around giving his back to her. "I bet you can't walk, right?"_

_"Will you carry me home?" She asked in an endearing voice though she was upset with him a few seconds earlier. He hummed and after some movements behind his back, tiny hands wrapped around his neck without any hesitation. He stood up, gripping her thighs to keep her still and headed back to her house._

_Only that time he noticed they had come quite far away from from it . Not that he minded walking with her on his back, her body was soft and light as if she were a feather. Besides she was sharing her warmth with him, for the first time in his life, he was enjoying the physical contact. Was that girl using some sort of supernatural powers on him? They both walked back home having a comfortable talk, telling each other's funny stories, favorite food and colors. She hugged his neck tightly but didn't strong enough to make him feel choked. She also frequently played with hair, having some kind of fondness in them. He felt it was impossible to dislike everything she did to him. If someone who knew him well saw him right now, they'd hung their mouths in air with tons of confusions in their heads. He couldn't understand himself too. He had just discovered a different side of him that only the pink-haired girl could bring it out._

_Suddenly, he felt her lifted her head and wiggling on his back. Then she spoke, "Onii-chan, it's almost sunset. Can you bring me over there?" pointing a finger to a cherry tree beside a pond. Flowers were swirling around and with the combination of the setting sun's orange-tinted color, the displaying scene was magnificent, dreamy but enchanting. Tightening his grip on her thighs, he walked to the tree in a slow pace. It wasn't very far from them. Once they reached below the tree, he inhaled a gentle breeze mixed with flowery scent of hers. It was refreshing and giddy at the same time. But he decided to stop thinking about it._

_After looking around the scenery, he started, "Such a beautiful place."_

_"Sure it is. Me and Papa usually come here when he's free. He said I was named after them. My birthday arrived when a lot of sakura flowers were blooming gracefully in this tree. So, he gave me their name. But I'm sure he couldn't think of a better name." She chuckled._

_"It is the best name for you. Beautiful and strong. No other name could ever fit you that much." Eyes widened and her cheeks flushed with rosy shade. "You think so?" He only hummed in agreement._

_"Hey, onii-chan, you are so mean. You haven't told me your name." she pouted._

_"You didn't ask."_

_"I'm asking you now." She hit him on the shoulder with her little fist._

_"Well. Well. Okay. It's Kakashi."_

_"That's cool. I'll call you Kashii-oniichan." "It's Ka-Ka-Shi." He repeated in case she heard it wrong. In truth, he was fine with whatever name she called him. There was absolutely nothing to be angry with that pinky thing._

_"Jeez, I know. I'm not deaf." She said as she wiggled behind him. "Say, Kashi-oniichan, why are you hiding your face?" She asked putting her chin on his shoulder, looking at him with curious eyes. As her question was unexpected, he went tense and silent for a bit. Then, he balanced his posture and replied, "I have an ugly scar across my right eye."_

_"Is that why your right eye is red?" "It is a gift from my friend, actually. But you can say that." He remembered his eyepatch wasn't with him and he normally didn't wear it in Anbu gear. His fox mask was off by the time they arrived the village and so the sharingan was opened without any cover. But civilians didn't pay much attention to his eye which is fine for him. "But I want to see your face. Can you show me? Please? I promise I won't laugh at your scar." She pleaded in such an innocent voice._

_Again, he was caught off guard. It'd been over a decade he had worn mask and never shown anyone willingly, of course except his father. Only a handful of his friends had seen what's under the mask during critical missions. Now, he was in difficult situation. "I never let people see my face. Not even my friends."_

_"That's very mean of you."_

_"Why do you want to see, anyway? It's just a face underneath."_

_"You're one of my best friends now. I'd like to remember your face when you're gone. Do you think I don't know you and your father are just guests and going to leave soon?" He looked at her, surprised. This girl, only 6 years old, almost a decade younger than him but already intelligent enough to understand things. He smiled lightly as his dad was never wrong at reading people._

_"You are a smart kid."_

_"I know," she said moving forward to catch a sight of him, squeezing him with little body of hers. "Will you show me?" He turned his head to side to look at her in the eyes. She was right, they were going to leave soon and had no idea he'd have luck to come back here. This day was the first of meeting her but it could also be the last. Only the God knows. So, he wanted to give her his all when he had the chance. "Only if you promise me one thing," he stated._

_"Okay. What promise?"_

_"Promise that you won't tell anyone you had seen my face. Anyone..." He emphasized to make sure she got what he meant. She nodded enthusiastically._

_"I, Sakura Haruno, promise that I won't tell a soul that I had seen Kashii-oniichan's face. If I break my words, may Kami punish me and I will never get to eat dumplings again." She swore closing her eyes and holding a palm up in the air. He made a sound of giggle at her assertiveness and was amused to see her firm determination. Who could stay not loving this girl? His heart was melted to complete liquid state now._

_She slowly opened her eyes and dropped her hand back to its place. "Is it enough? Should I say more swearings?" She asked blinking her eyes in expectation._

_"No, No. It's enough. I'll show you." He couldn't believe he said it. He agreed to show someone his face, especially the one whom he just met. Sounds really really hilarious but it's alright. She's special, at least for him. "Yayyy!!!" She shouted happily, raising her arms. "Then, bring me to frontside. I can't see you very well from here."_

_"Hai Hai."_

_Her hands let go of his shoulders and he slowly moved her to the front, careful not to hurt her sore leg. When she was stable in his arms, his fingers came to rest at the edge of the mask. "Close your eyes." She shut her eyes quickly. Breathings fast due to the excitement and patiently waiting to hear his voice again, hands gripping his shirt._

_"You can open now." She bit-by-bit lifted her eyelids as if she wasn't dying to see. The awaiting view amazed her in a fantastic way, making her jaw dropped slightly and big eyes went bigger._

_"Kashi-oniichan... you have a pretty face." She remarked as her hands crawled up and cupped his now-exposed bare face. "And that is a mole?" Her thumb smoothly rubbing a black spot on his chin._

_"Pretty is not a right word," he laughed shyly. "You should say handsome. Umm...yes. That is my beauty mark."_

_"Hmm? But you are pretty."_

_"Okay. Okay. So you like what you see?" She smiled sweetly and nodded, her little hand stretched out to catch a falling flower and she placed it on his ear. The pink flower looked glorious between his silver strands. "You're prettier now." He sighed, closing his eyes but didn't try to remove the thing on his ear. "Boys don't wear flowers, Sakura-chan."_

_"But I always do that to Papa." She blinked. He gave in and let her do whatever she likes with his face and hair. She even tried to tie his hair into pigtails. At this beautiful day, with the beautiful sunset, both of them shared a beautiful moment together._

_The General and his son stayed the night at the Harunos' house and decided to leave in the early morning. After the breakfast, they were ready to continue their journey. Sakumo genuinely thanked the family as they said goodbye to them. It was so hard for Kakashi although he kept all his feelings by himself and let no one see it. In this incredibly short period of time, that little girl had become important to him, precious to him and he tied himself with her. After all, he felt something while being with her, something he had never felt before. Bending his knees, he ruffled her soft hair strands, "I'm going. Take care of yourself. Okay?"_

_She lifted her eyes to meet his, those two emeralds were as rounded and shiny as the moon. "When will you come back?" She asked in a very low voice._

_"Someday," he said smiling his best. That wasn't a lie. It might took years but he had decided, to come back to her, to see her grown up to the most beautiful girl in the world - though that was only his opinion. He didn't know how long it would be, but he believed there's a chance to see her again and he would make it happen._

_"I'll be waiting." Her reply warmed his heart to an extent and their little fingers locked each other._

_"That's a promise," he said. She nodded and looking her innocent face for the last time, he turned his back and walked away with his father._

_"Kakashi-niichan!"_

_He stopped to look at the girl back who was running towards him. When she was right in front of him, he gave her a little pat on her head. "Something's wrong?"_

_Shaking her head in denial, she released the red ribbon which was tied around her head. "I want to give you a present so you'll never forget me. Please take this." He took it from her hands and crouched down to look into her eyes. "Thank you. Don't worry about that. I can say I will always remember you," he said pinching one of her chubby cheeks._

_She smiled brightly like the sun which was starting to rise. "Always keep it carefully. Okay? Don't lose it. It's precious to me."_

_"Hai. Hai. I don't dare defy the order of Princess Sakura." He teased and stood up, giving her a final ruffle of her hair. She giggled at the word 'Princess' showing how much she liked to be called like this. This was their first and last goodbye. After that, both men left the village and continued their trip. Who would have known this trip had given the silver-haired boy unforgettably sweet memories and someone special to adore heartily..._


	9. Unconditional

Kakashi reflected the things that happened 12 years ago as his hand was holding an old red ribbon. It was originally tied to a kunai which was given as a present from his sensei when he became a jounin. The ribbon made the kunai stand out and he felt exclusive. He always kept them closely with him as a lucky charm and he indeed believed they brought him luck during fights or battles. At lonesome times, he took it out from his pouch and recalled all heart-warming memories - at that moment, he smiled, his heart smiled, flowers near him smiled, everything looked delighted. A piece of him was aware that he had a ridiculously crazy obsession with the troublesome pink head maiden. 

Actually, it wasn't the last time he saw her after he had left the village. He was on a mission in a town which exists not-so-far-away from her place. That town was having a spring festival at night and he saw her there, in crowds, in red kimono. It was so easy to recognize as she was the only one with pink hair. Those unusual but gorgeous strands were not short anymore, they were reaching the middle of her back which were tied together before the edge with a band. Her face looked slimmer, neck looked longer and jaws more defined. She, of course, got taller as well. But her green eyes never lost their brightness. They were still the same, shining along with the moon. He was 23, so she could be 13. A beautiful flower was starting to blossom. He didn't call her. She didn't see him. She was giggling and strolling around the food stalls with her friends, having a pleasant night. It would be very likely that she couldn't remember him if he called her. Would she really keep a man who spent only a few hours with her in mind? But she made a promise and he wanted to believe that she would still remember him.   
With a mission in his hand, he continued to accomplish it successfully and pushed her away from his head - if that was possible. Seeing her back in the army was the last thing he expected. He had already wanted to return that village and meet her again but so many duties were on his shoulders and the situation of the country was at stake. When she turned 18, she wouldn't be married or at least engaged. That's the reason he'd been restraining his emotions all the time.

But now, fate had brought them back together again in the weirdest way. How on earth would a girl masquerade as a man and join the army? It was so absurd just to think about it. The only reason she got this dangerous idea could be her father. The first time he saw her in the camp, his heart skipped a beat. The pink hair. No one had this hair color except the Harunos. As he stopped the fight between her and Naruto, he got the opportunity to observe her in detail. Body was small and lithe. Jawlines were sharp and feminine. Lips were plump and curled in the shape of roses. Eyes were big, round and had long eyelashes. Voice was forced to sound like a man. Even though she was covered in dirt and stinky, he could see through it. No one had ever succeeded in lying to him after all. Pretending not to know her true identity, a bit sad that she didn't remember him, he let her stay in the army although it was an utterly wrong thing. On the other hand, she had never failed to surprise him all the time. She went through all those tough trainings even strong men had to give up. She failed multiple times, yet never stopped trying till she passed. She had an incredible persistence and confidence, didn't show her fear or let it take over. He could see all the qualities of a great warrior in her. His father was never wrong in reading people, he realized. " _She will grow up to a wonderfully impressive woman."_ Shoving the ribbon into his pant pocket, he went outside the tent, having a place to go in mind.

Both Sakura and Naruto were sent to the infirmary after successfully retrieving the scroll and survived the dreadful explosion. During the test, many soldiers were injured and a few were killed. About one third of new recruits wouldn't be able to fight in the war with their conditions. A lot of raiders were also found dead here and there in the forest. It appeared as though they were suicide squads, formed only to eliminate the soldiers before the war. But Kakashi believed their purpose wouldn't be only this. Hanzo would surely try to collect Konoha army information as much as possible. Good thing was the Anbus found two alive cloaked men and brought them to the camp whom were being contained in cells now. As soon as they wake up, the investigation will begin. 

The sky was covered with clouds blocking the light of moon and stars. The night was only illuminated by firelight. The commander walked inside wooden containers which were temporarily built for major generals and to keep soldiers under penalty. A man in his 50s with a rugged head and two long scars crossing his face turned to look at the silver haired man as he stood in front of the bars.

"Shouldn't you be resting right now?" The man said flatly. The whole day has been a wreck." 

“I should be." Kakashi stood beside him, hands in his pockets, looking through the bars to see the two unconscious figures. "You know I don't like procrastinating. You should start doing something now."

“Already doing. I know my job, Kakashi. Your father trusts me and so should you." The man dropped his crossed arms and put them behind his back, peering into the charcoal eyes of the masked man.

Kakashi breathed out slowly, returning a look at the man beside him. "I do."

The major general drifted his eyes back to the cell, "We will start with basic mind invading technique. But it's very likely that they have the ability to resist. I have prepared more advanced techniques for them. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll be ready to give all the information tomorrow." 

“I'll be counting on you, then. And don't think I don't acknowledge your hard work," he said.

The man smiled lightly at his words and turned to see him, "like father like son." 

Kakashi gave him his typical eye-closed smile and left after saying goodbye. Before he was out, he stopped on spot and said softly, "Thank you Ibiki-san." 

With a certain determination in mind, he let his legs take him to a place where the pink haired soldier should be. Now, he was facing an ounce of fear in his heart. After all that incidents, he was afraid to risk. Almost, he almost lost her forever. Would it be too selfish of him for wanting to keep her beside him? What if she was in danger and he wasn't there to save her? He couldn't risk. All he wanted was her safety and the battlefield wasn't something predictable. This ain't a place for her. She shouldn't be here anymore.

As he came closer to the tent, the whiskered blonde's loud voice was heard, proudly telling his adventure back in the forest. "That bastard stabbed himself and in a second, white light came out. I thought we were going to die. Then, Satoru dragged my arm and jumped into the lake just before the man exploded."

"Man, you both could have died," said the Inuzuka.

"We didn't. Well....almost. The explosion produced shock waves and they were killing us. I summoned Gamakichi and he kept us in his mouth. But he's very upset with me right now." The blonde laughed shyly.

"Also, the lake was big enough to endure the pressure. Anyway, you guys are lucky," said Shikamaru.

"Yo!" Waving a hand, Kakashi let the boys know his presence.

"Oh...Kakashi-sensei. Do you come to see me?" The blonde greeted him cheerfully, feeling glad to see his teacher.

"Maa- How's my student doing?"

"I'm getting better. So ready for the battle, dattebayo. See? Satoru has healed me really well. I couldn't even feel my muscles sore anymore." He grinned moving his shoulders in circles and punching into the air. His shirtless body was still half-covered by bandages.

"Satoru....healed you?" He asked vaguely, wasn't sure if he heard him right. "Yes. I also just found out today Sensei. In the cave, I got poisoned and he saved my life. He's a really cool medic 'ttebayo. Oh....there's also a talking slug named....Kato...ki? Shi?"

"That's true. Though the poison wasn't a strong one, it was spreading so fast. I thought Naruto was going to die. It appeared Satoru had saved him," the cool-looking Uchiha conceded. He also had a serious injury in his chest but thankfully the pink head had made it to a better condition.

Kakashi fell silent for a moment as unexpected news hit him. He had heard the brief report about them in the forest but it didn't state Sakura being a doctor. All the time in the camp, how come he never noticed? He was aware she had less injuries and even when she got them, the next morning she seemed fine. He just simply thought she went infirmary. "That took me by surprise," he murmured honestly.

"Believe me. I never thought that damn pink haired mule would be that awesome." Naruto grunted and leaned against the bed yawning.

"Where's he? I mean Satoru." Kakashi inquired as there's no trace of pink in his sight.

"He said he's gonna take some bath,"

"I see. Well, get some rest boys. We only have one day left. You should be in good shape."

The boys replied, "Hai" in unison and the commander left their tent saying good night. He was in pensive mood now. When did Sakura learn medical ninjutsus? In a place like boonies, there weren't many people who can utilize chakra. When he was in her village, everyone seemed to be normal citizens, only interested in farming and agriculture. From whom did she learn this? It did not seem like she went to medical school. The place was far and the expense was high. Nonetheless, he couldn't stay unimpressed knowing she had mastered the complex and difficult medical studies which anyone couldn't. It took years, hard work, passion and intelligence that one must possess to achieve expertise. Kami, she must be the most amazing woman he had ever seen.

He knew where he had to go to see her. She would go take a bath means she would be definitely at the stream. Whatever came across, his decision had been made and it wouldn't be changed. Clouds dispersed gradually and the sky became clearer. The moon was now able to shine at its best and stars were helping it. The landscape looked surreal under the moonlight. There she was. At the bank of the stream. Wet pink strands falling around her shoulders. Her top was only covered by chest bindings and a white towel was wrapped around her waist. She was washing some clothes after the bath. He climbed to a tree near her and decided to wait till she's done. The moon was illuminating her hair and it looked more enchanted. He noticed scratches on her face and wounds from the fight were all gone. Now her skin was flawless, looking smooth and silky, so perfect to run fingers on them. He was never into big thick woman with huge boobs though he slept with a few of them. Her body was somehow perfect for his liking. She was lean and muscular in sexy way. He knew observing her in this way was wrong. She was just barely adult and there's ten years of age gap between them. But only seeing her small petite frame excited him in a very sinful way. If he didn't have a good self-control, he would already have a boner. Just everything about her seemed so enticing to him.

The girl was done washing the clothes and stood up to put on the garments she brought. Accidentally, her feet slipped over the wet stone and she felt herself falling backwards. A shocked yelp escaped her mouth and she closed her eyes tightly knowing she'd be falling into the water. Instead of the cold water she was expecting, a pair of warm arms caught her, locking her body between them. Feeling relieved that she didn't get to touch the freezing water again but immediately a question came across her mind. _Who is the owner of those arms?_

Abruptly, her eyelids were lifted and the glittering emeralds met the sombre charcoals. Her frown dissolved into a surprise and she froze in his arms. Lips slightly parted but no word came out. Without breaking eye contact or moving an inch, he began, "You're pretty sloppy, aren't you?" It felt strange to say the same thing again he said 12 years ago to the same person. He hoped that would remind her some of their memories.

The staggered girl just realized her current position, her clothes and the person she's facing was the one and only, freaking hot but scary, commander. She had never felt so fucked up in her life. Making herself out of his grip and kept some distant between them, covering her feminine parts with hands though she knew it was useless if he had already seen her. "C-C-Commander....I-I can explain...That was...the...ehh...." she stuttered, thinking hard to give a valid reason but couldn't find one. She was so scared and out of her wits.

Closing his eyes, the silver haired man let out a heavy obvious sigh and crossed his arms, making the girl confused. Instantly, she fisted her hands and kept them up against her chest. "I-I'm really sorry. I didn't have a choice. P-Please forgive me." She pleaded, head facing down as she didn't dare look at him.

"Sakura....Don't you think it's enough?" Her eyes widened as he called her with real name. Her body stopped shaking and she didn't remember to breathe anymore. _Had he been knowing all along? But....How?_

Silence between them continued and with a lot of ambiguous thoughts rampaging through her mind, she lifted her head to see him. Her muscles being tense went relieved when she met his gaze. There was no anger, shock or resentment. His black eyes were showing a soft, warm and tender expression, a look she was once familiar with, but couldn't...recall exactly ...where... A gentle breeze blew and his silver strands danced as the wind's direction. In that very moment, she felt like she was forgetting _something_ really _important_ to her.

"Sakura," the man in front of her made a move, "I can't believe how easily you could forget me. The promise between us meant nothing to you?" He said with a little bit of bitterness in his voice, and took out a red ribbon from his pocket. "The gift you gave me doesn't matter to you?" He asked holding the ribbon firmly in his fist.

Intuitively, her hand came to her opened mouth and eyes observing him closely to match an image, appearing in her mind. The silver hair. The mask. The eyes. "No way," she muttered, her voice wavering, "Kashi-onichan?"

As soon as the words came out, her heart went wild in a very fast rhythm. The boy she was waiting for, for years, to see again. Every evening, she went to the cherry tree and waited his arrival. Their meeting time was short but they had already shared a strong bond between them and she faithfully believed he would come back to see her. Years passed and the boy she was anticipating never made his appearance. But she kept waiting for him under the tree until her father told her he lived in royal capital, which is extremely far away from them and as a Shinobi of the emperor he is, he wouldn't come to the village without any work-related reason. So he suggested she should stop dreaming about a certain boy and live a life of her own. Though she kept waiting whatever her father said but he never showed up and when Tsunade arrived, she got a distraction and moved on her life. Memories were still there but they were fading. She remembered the promise but his image in her head was blurry. As she grew older, she didn't think about it anymore, learned medical subject, helped her parents and even agreed to the engagement. Things turned out in unpleasant way and she happened to join the arms under charade. When she met him, how could she have time to think about it? Her mind was too busy worrying about her true identity would be uncovered. She didn't want her throat to be cut off after all.

Now, that boy was standing in front of her, holding the ribbon she gave, looked pretty worn out but what matters is he still kept it. He, of course, wasn't definitely a boy anymore. His hair was shorter and face looked more mature with a really hot muscular body that every woman would drool over. She didn't even know if she was lucky or worse.

"Glad to know that I'm still in your memory."

"I .... I..." she squirmed as he came closer. Her lips parted at the loss of words. She gasped when he put a hand in her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. She flinched at the touch as his cold hand met her warm skin but a second later, she his warmth spreading through her body.

"You have really grown up to a wonderful woman. To be honest, you never failed to amaze me. I'm so proud of you." His hand on her shoulder moved and it came to ruffle her hair in the same way he did to her more than a decade ago.

She could say he was smiling under the mask. That action heated her cheeks and a rosy shade blush was painted on them. "T-Thank you," was all she could manage to say. He withdrew his hand and faked a cough, making a grunt. "You'll catch a cold. Put on some clothes." Only then, she came to notice her not-quite-like attire and quickly wore the brown robe she brought. The white towel covering her underpart dropped to the ground and she fastened the black strings around her waist.

When she looked comfortable enough to listen to him, he continued, "I heard from Naruto. You saved his life and even healed your teammates' injuries. That's really great. I never thought you would become an expert, you know, in medical field. It isn't something anyone can study. I'm so impressed."

The pink-haired girl felt her cheeks flared and drew her lips back, giving a sheepish smile and tugged some strands of hair behind her ear. His compliments were making her feel so flattered.

"But..."

Her smile disappeared at his word and she suddenly sensed there's gonna be some painful meaning behind it. Swallowing thickly, she worriedly waited for him to continue.

"As much as I acknowledge your abilities, you shouldn't be here, Sakura. This is not a place for you. The battlefield is ravaging, full of blood and deaths. I've been through all those situations and I know how horrible they are. A lovely girl like you doesn't belong here. It's exceedingly...." He exhaled, looking into her eyes with full of concern. "Dangerous. You must go home."

Sakura's eyes which were being startled changed to intense gaze, fully focusing on the man in front of her. "Commander, I know what I'm doing is against the laws. I'm breaking the rules. But I have prepared for that. I will accept whatever punishment you decide. Just please let me fight in the war. Let me stay in the army till we win the battle. That's all I wish," she asserted, hands fisting firmly beside her.

"Sakura, you are still young. Too young-

"To die?" She finished his sentence, making him stare at her with concerned eyes. This time, she hated that look. "You are underestimating me Commander. I'm not that weak naive girl anymore you met 12 years ago. My teacher who taught me medical jutsus didn't only teach healing and supporting. She also taught me how to fight. You just can't judge someone without seeing their real strength."

Hearing her talk with full of determination made him smile faintly under the mask. She had changed a lot but she was still the same girl he knew. That stubbornness of hers is the thing that would never change. He didn't find it annoying at all, but enjoyed it as if watching the cutest show. However, nothing is more important than her safety. "The war is more hazardous and disastrous than you can ever imagine. Listen to me Sakura, I don't want to see you hurt. I'm afraid not being able to keep you safe during the war," he insisted calmly, almost impassive. Showing emotions isn't his thing but in deep down, he cared for her. A lot. He was worried.

"Pardon?" She blurted, narrowing her eyes at him and tilting her head slightly. "You don't need to keep me safe. I can protect myself for fuck's sake. I can even protect my friends. God, please you have to believ-

She didn't even have the chance to finish her sentence as strong arms carried her forcefully and so fast that in a blink, she found herself being pinned against a tree. A larger male body was caging her tiny one. When she was about to ask him about his action, his half-gloved hand covered her mouth not allowing her to make any sound. He understood and gently whispered into her ear letting her feel his breath on her neck, "Two people are coming."

Kakashi removed his hand from her mouth but his body didn't move and his face still lingering around hers. Only a few centimeters were separating them. Sakura forgot to breathe as his warm breath sent shivers down her body like electricity. Her hands gripped the cloth she's wearing and pursing her lips, she tried not to think about how close their bodies are but failed miserably. His masculine scent was filling her nose like intoxicating gas, making her knees weak. She had never ever been that close to a man in her life. But surprisingly his proximity didn't make her feel any uncomfortable — but excited. At this rate, she was afraid he could hear her heart beating so wildly. She noticed two men a few yards away were doing their business in the stream. She didn't quite understand herself but there was a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement at the same time.

Kakashi was amused seeing Sakura's chest rising and falling at a certain speed. She was definitely effected by their closeness and surprisingly he didn't sense any dislike or fear. The burning blush on her cheeks was telling everything. He couldn't help but wanted to tease her at the moment. "You want me to believe you when you forgot our promise?" He murmured, in a teasing tone. One hand was against the tree above her head and the other gripping her shoulder.

"N-No, I didn't. I remember," she gasped as his calloused fingers glided down her arm slowly, sending electricity to everywhere it touched and goosebumps popped out. "I-I've waited for y-years t-to see you. B-but you never came," she whined, daring a look at him.

"Is that so? Did you want to see me again?" He probed, the hand on the tree had now picked up some of her hair and he smelled its cherry fragrance. She closed her eyes and swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth. Her mind was focusing on his fingers and how he was smelling her.

"Y-Yes," a shaky breath escaped. He smiled crookedly, fingers that were sliding down rested her waist, pressing his body more. The other hand grabbed her chin not-so-gently to make her look into his eyes. He leaned in closer till his nose grazed hers and their lips almost brushed.

"Did you miss me?" He asked hoarsely. She couldn't bring herself to respond immediately. His fingers, his touch were too distracting. What worse was something oddly hard was poking her groin and she was delirious, almost out of her mind. Plus, she was feeling hot, the kind of heat she had never felt before. Getting herself together, she managed to say in a wavering voice, "Y-Yes."

He smirked, completely aware of the situation. His sensitive nose was telling she was turned on, like him. "You've got wet down there, haven't you?" He gave a mischievous grin and subsequently his knee parted her legs and touched her center roughly through the clothes. That move made her yelp in surprise but unintentionally, that yelp turned into a delicious moan.

"Hey, I think I heard something," a man who was washing his face said confusedly, looking around the place.

"You are just imagining. Weren't you reading horror novel before?" Another man grumbled impatiently.

"Ahaha...yes," the man chuckled embarrassedly scratching the back of his head.

"Man, I really need to stop reading them."

"If you're done, let's go already. I'm sleepy." Another man hummed and they headed back to the camp.

"You made us almost caught Sakura," he growled, still caressing her center with his thigh. Both hands were on her waist. She bit her lips harshly not to let another moan. Her eyes fixated on him, his eyes fixated on hers. She knew he was doing sinful things to her but she couldn't resist it. It was like she was already bound to him from the start. She couldn't think about other things. Right now, she only cared about how his hands and leg were making her feel good. Actually, she even wanted more. Her hands which were clutching her robe were now wrapping around his neck. "Kashii..." she whimpered, legs shaking.

Suddenly, his leg between hers disappeared and another _hard thing_ replaced, pressing his body with more force. "I've told you. It's Ka-Ka-Shi. Say again." He blustered huskily. Head fell onto the crook of her neck, nuzzling the naked area through the mask. Hands moved lower and one rested on her hip while the other traveled lower to lift the robe and crawled up the silky skin of her thigh.

"Ka...Kakashi."

He lifted his head to see her face. Hair was a little messy and she was blushing furiously, writhing under his touch and watching him with heavy lidded eyes. Alluring lips were also parted, asking for him to give attention to them. She was so beautiful and he had never wanted anything badly in his life. Now, he found it and he was going to take it. Without any restraints, he closed the distance between them to feel the taste of her lips. _Damn...the mask._ What's the problem? He had already showed her once. Why not again? Pulling back to tug down the mask and didn't give her a second to admire his face, he crushed his lips on hers, cupping her face in his hand.

Sakura didn't know how to feel to get her first kiss in the forest, in the army, dressed like a boy. But they didn't matter. He knew who she is and he's the one she'd been hoping to see. So she let herself drown into his kiss. It wasn't soft by any means. He started roughly and was going roughly. He pulled her lower lip between his teeth, enjoying how she tastes. Tilting her head for a better angle, he kissed her more, tongue tracing the line of her lips. When she parted them, he happily invaded her mouth and savored every inch of hers, licking everywhere. She was like a drug. The more he gets, the more he wants. Their tongues met and they stroked each other. Her hands were pulling his silver hair with some force, not as innocently as she did when she was young.

Their kiss went more heated and heated, full of desire and wants, accompanied by lust. He was kissing her like she was about to disappear like a smoke and she loved it. She loved everything he was doing to her.

After several minutes of tasting each other, both had to separate for air. Breathing hard to catch the needing oxygen in their lungs. He cupped her face with both hands, resting his forehead against hers. "Sakura, I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you." He panted.

"You won't," she assured, putting her hand on his.

"But-

She silenced him placing a finger on his lips. "You have to trust me. Trust in my abilities. I will not let myself die easily. I have already promised that to my teacher. I can promise you too."

"Sakura..." he faltered, with uncertainty in his voice.

"If I go back home now, I'll be like a pathetic loser. People will mock me and make fun of me. Also my family will have to suffer their gossip. I don't want to live my life like this. I can prove I'm strong enough to save the country despite being a woman. Please, you have to trust me," she begged, giving a light squirt to his hand.

He straightened back and pulled her into a warm embrace. She hugged him back welcomely. Hiding his face between her hair, he whispered, "please don't die."

"I won't," she reassured, drawing circles on his back as if she was comforting a sad baby. "I can even save you, you know." He pulled back and looked at her with a sweet smile. She snorted and held her hand up, "Remember? Medic." Hand started to glow with ambient light of green. He grinned, revealing his teeth.

"Of course. You can stay. I'm in need of a personal doctor anyway," he shrugged, pulling his mask back to its place.

She giggled hitting his chest lightly and gave a grateful smile. It was going to be a long night for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All my drafts are on wattpad. This website isn’t just familiar to me. I don’t quite understand how it works. I just copied, posted and left. I hope you don’t mind :’(


	10. Announcement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I’m back, this will be deleted.

Sorry for not posting updates. Right now, I'm mentally exhausted and in disconsolate state of mind due to the political crisis in our country. It's really terrible and the worst nightmare for us. As a rightful citizen, I'm actively participating in fight to restore peace and will do anything to put the country back to its previous peaceful state. This turmoil is important and I cannot allow the history repeat that happened in 1988. If we fail, our dreams and futures will be destroyed and the same goes for next generations. We'll be like in second north korea. That's why I will stop my story for a while until my mind is calm and peaceful enough for writing. (Don't worry, I will never abandon my work and will be back with more new stories. I have drafts and I’m trying to improve my writing too. Cuz writing kakasaku fictions can make my heart calm :) That's my love for this couple.) 

If you want to know what's happening in our country, search on twitter "SaveMyanmar", "RejectTheMilitary" or "Military coup in Myanmar" in google. 

Please send prayers for us, mina-san 🙏🏻 This is critical for us and I will do whatever to make the revolution a success!


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